Danganronpa: Black and White
by SethRollinsandBoDallas
Summary: Sixteen of the nation's most accomplished students are scouted to go to Hope's Peak Academy. But when a certain black and white character gets in on the mix, a wonderful learning experience gets turned into a game of mutual killing. (SYOC CLOSED)
1. Monokuma wants YOU!

**(_A/N: This SYOC is now closed! Thank you so much for all of the awesome submissions!)_**

* * *

**Hey, losers! It's your favorite Upupu bear - MONOKUMA! You may be wondering why I'm breaking the fourth wall all of a sudden, but trust me, this is some **_**beary **_**important business! *AHEM***

**We can't find any students worthy of going to the esteemed Hope's Peak Academy! I k****now, what a shocker! Anyways, that's where you bastards come in! We need you to scout students for the Hope's Peak st****aff! There are 16 needed in total, and there are a total of *look in profile, bastards!* spots remaining. Of course, there are some guidelines you must follow while scouting your student!**

**Number One: They must have a Super High School Level **_**TALENT**_**! Talent with a BEARY capital T. Their title can not be based on a personaloty trait. This means that SHSL Mystery, Sweetheart, Slacker, Teacher's Pet, Outgoing Scholar and crap like that is strictly forbidden!**

**Number Two: You've all heard this before, but Mary-Sue and Gary-Stue characters are not welcome in a school environment! Upupu, that reminds me of...anyways, those types of characters are not suited for the life of mutual killing!**

**And Number Three: Please fill out the form carefully and discriptively! If you don't, then your student will not be accepted! You also must fill out the entire application. Remember this well, bastards: You don't apply for the academy, the academy scouts **_**you**_**. So make your characters the very best! Monokuma...OUT!**

**Okay, Monokuma BACK IN! We have found the most talented high school students in the country, so this game of mutual killing shall begin shortly! Monokuma...OUT AGAIN!**

* * *

Female:

1\. Paige Sato, SHSL Historian

2\. Akira Yamashita, SHSL Designer

3\. Elena Luz Grey, SHSL Ringleader

4\. Haniji Tahame, SHSL Painter

5\. Sugita Taiki, SHSL Volleyball Player

6\. Natsumi Ebihara, SHSL Sniper

7\. Eiko Watanabe, SHSL Veterinarian

8\. Pyonpyon-King, SHSL Kigurumi

Male

1\. Ace Grayson, SHSL Gambler

2\. Kuno Okura, SHSL Espionage

3\. Ryunosuke Sanada, SHSL Actor

4\. Masahide Kotara, SHSL Ping-Pong Master

5\. Masaru Nakamura, SHSL Diplomat

6\. Ryota Suzuki, SHSL Soccer Star

7\. Kiyoshi Nakashima, SHSL Boxer

8\. Daichi Okada, SHSL Mercenary


	2. A Rude Awakening

Just as intently as he would watch someone walk by, Kuno Okura looked up at the academy with great interest.

His sky blue eyes scanned all of the features of the building. From the tall tan pillars to the clear glass windows, everything looked as dream-like as he would imagine it being. His chestnut brown hair blew softly in the wind, further covering his scarred grey eye.

"No one seems to be here yet. Maybe they're already inside," Kuno wondered out loud, looking on both sides of him to check for anyone walking by. That's what he always did; he was always watching people. Watching carefully with every step they took. Watching and noting every little movement they made. He had a specific eye for his usual targets, which were yakuzas. They were always up to no good.

Kuno looked down at his silver watch. _It's almost time, _he thought to himself. _I should be heading in now. Who knows, maybe there'll be…never mind that. Hopeless thoughts aren't welcome at Hope's Peak. _

With his usual smile plastered on his face, he proudly walked into the academy.

* * *

"…Where…where am I?" Kuno dizzily drifted back to reality. He slowly lifted his head up from a cold desk. He appeared to be in some sort of classroom. The word 'DESPAIR' was written all across the white board in bold letters. There seemed to be huge iron plates bolted to the walls. _Iron plates? Why are there iron plates everywhere? _

He looked around the dim classroom, still dizzy from waking up. All the way across the room was another person who looked about his age, their head in their hands. They appeared to be in the same state Kuno was.

Kuno slowly walked over to them and shook them slowly. "Excuse me? Are you awake?" he asked the lifeless body. To his surprise, they immediately shot up, standing up from the desk they were at.

"What the hell?!" they screamed.

"Yeah, same reaction here," Kuno replied.

"No, no, hold up. Did you just…did you just _lay a hand on me_?"

"…Yes?"

"Do you even _know _how one touch from someone like you could harm these designer clothes?! Hmph…You're very rude, you know that?!"

"I wasn't aware. Sorry." Kuno was bewildered at the act this girl put on. He noticed how she hadn't taken her hand of her hip. "Would you mind telling me your name?"

Kuno couldn't see it through her thick sunglasses, but he was pretty sure her eyes were shooting daggers at him. "Yamashita. Akira Yamashita."

_Akira Yamashita? _Kuno wondered. _That's a very familiar name. If I recall correctly, she is the Super High School Le-_

"I'm the Super High School Level Designer. I mean, if you couldn't tell already."

_Jeez, she's…no, only positive thoughts. _Akira Yamashita was very famous around those parts. She was known worldwide for her talent in clothing designing. Her clothing business is one of the most highly sought-after in the country. You could immediately tell that she was the Super High School Level Designer, just based on her looks. Aside from her short brown hair, she wore a plethora of fancy clothes. Among these were a cocoa-colored long top, dark brown trousers, several fancy belts, brown high-heeled leather boots, and many gold necklaces.

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Akira. My name is Kuno Okura, the Super High School Level Espionage. It's a pleasure to meet you." Kuno held out his hand, expecting Akira to shake it. Akira just stared at it with the most disgusted expression.

"Sorry. I don't do that. You're very pushy, Kuno, you know that?" Akira unsteadily looked around the room. "But more importantly, where the hell are we?"

"Sadly, I have no clue. I've carefully inspected the room, but there are no real signs of where we could be…"

"Ugh, for a spy, you're quite useless. Hmph. Now, if you don't mind, and I don't care if you do, I'm just gonna leave and look at what else this hell-hole has to offer," she said confidently as she turned to face the door. She walk out of the room, pride in every step. Kuno shook his head and followed.

* * *

"Hello? Has anyone seen Masaru?!"

Ryota Suzuki wandered aimlessly around the dim halls, trying to find someone in particular. His short, wavy brown hair flopped around as he quickly roamed the halls. He noticed all of the peculiar writing on the walls, but he didn't stop moving.

Not until he bumped into someone.

"Oh, shit! Sorry, love," Ryota apologized as he turned to face her.

She was obviously larger and a lot more 'plump' than Ryota, not that Ryota was fat to begin with, considering that his body was mostly large lumps of muscle. Her hazel eyes pierced into his soul like big hazel spears, but her bangs almost covered them. She wore a white button-up shirt underneath a loud red and gold tailcoat. Her dark brown hair matched well with her mocha-colored skin.

"…Love, you say?" she said dreamily.

"If that's what you want me to call you."

She grabbed ahold of Ryota's hands. "My name is Elena Luz Grey. Pleased to meet you…_love_."

Ryota sighed heavily and ripped his hands away from her tight grip. "Look, I don't have time for this. I'm looking for someone."

Elena smiled brightly. "And who may that be, sweetheart?"

"Masaru Nakamura. Pretty sure he's wearing some kinda suit or something…and he's got these golden eyes and dark brown hair and shit like that. Have you seen him?"

"Sorry, sweetheart, I haven't. But maybe I could help you look…"

"Gotta run. See you around." Ryota quickly dashed away, continuing his search for Masaru. He also ran to prevent that clingy Elena character from doing any further damage to him. He wasn't bothered. Just…a little annoyed, is all.

Elena hopelessly sighed as Ryota ran off. "Hmm…dang it," she said, sighing heavily. "I'm just too obnoxious, aren't I. Well, it can't be helped." Continuing a string of long sighs, she started walking in the opposite direction.

* * *

After a group of six students gathered everyone up into the same room, they had generally nothing to say to each other.

"…What the hell do we do now?" Akira asked the crowd. It was clear that she was attempting to take charge.

There was a choir off murmuring among the students. It ended once one student shakily raised their hand.

"What?" Akira asked in a demanding tone. "Do you have something to say?"

The crowd backed up to reveal the person who had raised their hand. Her face had the most innocent look. Her skin was extremely pale with long brown hair and black and blue highlights. She wore a standard blue schoolgirl uniform with a red skirt, matching red glasses, and blue open-toed sandals. "U-um…since we're all together now, I have a suggestion," she stuttered.

"Speak louder. I can't hear you," Akira demanded. Her hand seemed to be glued to her hip.

"Mhm…we should all introduce ourselves to one another, right?" the shy girl suggested, slightly louder than before.

Everyone slowly agreed and started to scatter around the room.

* * *

**Hey guys! I know this chapter was very underwhelming, but it's only the beginning. If your character didn't appear in this chapter, don't fret, they'll definitely be in one of the next two. Happy Despairing! **


	3. Meeting the Students: Part 1

Kuno silently watched as everyone around the room scattered around to introduce themselves. Feeling quite left out, he just wandered around, waiting for another Super Duper High Schooler to bring the conversation to him.

"Hey, bub, you lost or something?" a voice called, directed towards Kuno.

A plump lady with long brown hair wearing a red and gold tailcoat turned to face him.

"Um, no, I'm not lost. Just looking around. Looking at everyone," Kuno quietly replied.

"Oh, I see. Well, my name's **Elena Luz Grey, **the **Super High School Level Ringleader**! Pleased to meet you!" Elena enthusiastically held out her hand and Kuno shook it.

"That's…quite a grip," Kuno said, releasing his hand and holding it in pain.

"Yeah, I know. Gotta have a good grip when ya work in a circus, you know what I mean?"

"Not really. Sorry."

"Well, when you're in charge of a whole circus and stuff like that, you gotta take charge! Make sure no one drowns falls off a rope or gets eaten by a lion. It's hard work, but I love it!"

Kuno was confused about how that had to do with her having a hard grip, but he decided it was better not to mention it. "Nice meeting you, Ms. Grey. I hope to be able to talk to you in the future."

"You know it!" Elena happily exclaimed as she walked off in another direction.

_That wasn't so hard, _Kuno thought to himself. _Maybe if I can do this with everyone, we can all avoid conflict-_

"Hey, loser. Do I know you?"

Akira's voice cut into his thoughts like a sharp sword. "Oh, hey, Akira."

"Yeah, yeah. You know me. **Akira Yamashita, Super High School Level Designer**. You're that guy who ever-so rudely _touched _me."

_Speaking of avoiding conflict, it'll be hard with Akira around…_ "Well, Akira. Is there something you wanted to talk about?"

Akira gave Kuno the 'are-you-and-idiot' look as she said, "Duh. Haven't you seen…_it_?"

"Are you talking about what I'm thinking about, Akira?"

"That freaking animal suit, right?"

Kuno nodded in agreement. Surprisingly, he didn't think much of it at first, but he soon started to realize how awfully weird that was.

In the compact room full of colorful characters, the one that stood out the most was the person in the animal suit. The suit had a cartoon-esque adorable face with large, glassy red eyes, a small black nose, and several stitches all over it. The body was a mixture of pink and white and it wore a red scarf and a small golden crown on the side of its head. It held a small whiteboard in its chubby paws. As Kuno had recalled, it hadn't spoken a word since they were in the room.

"Well, stop standing there and go talk to it!" Akira demanded. Before Kuno could retaliate, she continued. "You're the **Super High School Level Espionage**, right? Then you're the only one who can find out what the hell is up with this guy in the animal suit!"

Kuno reluctantly trudged over to the animal-suited character, not really wanting to attempt talking to it. However, it was his job to observe the most peculiar characters, so he had no choice.

"Excuse me," Kuno said, trying to start a conversation. The suit turned over to him with that sort-of creepy cartoonish face. "Ahem. My name is Kuno Okura, the Super High School Level Espionage. And you are?"

The suit turned to its writing board and starting intently jotting down words. They turned it to Kuno, and the board said, "I AM **PYONPYON-KING **THE **SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL KIGURUMI!**" It started to dance around, joyfully clapping its hands as it did so.

_Yeah, Kigurumi means 'animal costume'_, Kuno thought. "So, I can tell that you're not one to talk, are you?"

Pyonpyon-King resumed its happy dancing, but it shook its head.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but what is your gender?"

Pyonpyon-King didn't respond, but its dancing did not cease.

"Well…see you around, I guess," Kuno said as he started walking away.

Just as he started walking away, someone pulled him over.

Once Kuno faced him, he saw a man around his age with short red hair that was only barely visible because of his beanie, with bright blue eyes, a blue hoodie with a green skull on the front, black jeans, and red and black sneakers. He still had not yet let go of Kuno's arm.

"I believe…" he slowly stuttered to Kuno. "I believe…that _you_, sir, have quite some…let me ask you this. How lucky would you consider yourself?"

"Lucky?"

"Yes, yes! Lucky."

"Um…pretty lucky, I guess."

The man's eyes sparkled with hope. "Ah, yes, that's what I expected from the lucky mouth of someone such as yourself! You see," he leaned in close. "You see…no one else here has as much luck as the two of us, you hear? You're so lucky that you may be able to rat my name out of me…"

Kuno furrowed his brow at this strange individual. "Would you mind telling me your name?"

"Yes! Indeed! I am **Ace Grayson**! They refer to me as the **Super High School Level Gambler**. It's because of my abilities…my _luck_."

Kuno was puzzled at Ace's behavior. _Hopefully, _Kuno thought, _he's not totally insane. He seems about as normal as that animal suited guy back over there. But I can't start any fights. That leads to trouble._

"I'm Kuno Okura, the Super High School Level Espionage. Pleased to meet you, Mr. Grayson."

"Oh, please. Call me Ace. Now then, Okura-Kun, you should go introduce yourself to the others. I'm sure they'll love you more than I could tolerate them. Those idiots had no luck whatsoever. Not the luck that we have," Ace said with a rather unsettling tone.

"I'd prefer if you'd call me Kuno, Ace."

"Oh, look, Okura-kun!" Ace said, completely ignoring his previous statement. "Those are the acting kids." He pointed over to a pair of students in a deep conversation. "I believe that you'll engage in a very interesting conversation with them! Since they didn't really appeal to my senses…"

"Yeah, I'd better get going. Talk to you later, Ace."

"See you soon, Okura-sama!"

Kuno sighed heavily as we walked up to the 'acting kids'. They were a guy and a girl, and by the looks of it, they seemed to be very good friends. The male had neatly styled dark brown hair, pale golden eyes that looked warm and cheerful, and an average black t-shirt with fine denim jeans and solid black shoes. The girl, on the other hand, had light magenta hair that went down to her mid-back, dark violet eyes that complimented her hair, high and defined cheekbones, and a rather busty build. She wore a white and blue volleyball uniform with white sports shoes. Both of them were very deep into their conversation until the guy noticed him standing there.

"Oh, hi," he said rather shyly, turning to the girl.

"Hey, man, 'sup!" the girl said cheerfully. "I, my name, um, I'm **Sugita Taiki**! I'm the **Super High School Level Volleyball Player**! Yeah, that's me…" the happiness slowly drained from here violet eyes. "Sorry, I'm not one for first impressions. And, um, you are?"

"Kuno Okura. Super High School Level Espionage. Nice to meet you, Ms. Taiki."

"Heeheehee! So nice…" Sugita said, kind of looking off into the distance.

"And…I'm **Ryunosuke Sanada**, the **Super High School Level Actor**. Nice to meet you, Kuno," the guy said, staring at Sugita staring at the ceiling. Ryunosuke started to fiddle with his fingers.

"So…you guys know anyone else here I can talk to?" Kuno asked.

Sugita snapped back into reality. "Oh, yeah! There's a whole bunch of more people around here! Hey, have you talked to that asshole who told me off for 'not having enough luck' He was snapping at us to go find more luck, and then he just pulled his beanie over his eyes and walked off. Right, Ryunosuke?"

"Yeah," Ryunosuke said quietly. "He never told us his name..."

"Oh, oh! There was also that one girl who ran away when we tried to talk to her. Right, Ryunosuke?"

Ryunosuke silently nodded, his eyes reflecting a feeling of embarrassment.

"I'll go try then. I'll see you guys around!" Kuno exclaimed as he walked off.

Kuno walked over to someone who seemed to be acting very shyly, avoiding everyone at all costs. It was the same girl with the brown hair and the glasses and the stutter. "Excuse me?" Kuno called once he managed his way over there. The girl put her arms up to deflect her face, almost about to break out into tears.

"I-I'm sorry! I'd never hurt you, miss," Kuno said apologetically, slowly backing up. The girl whimpered softly and then slowly lowered her arms.

"Sorry. I'm just…hello…" she said quietly, her knees pulling together.

"My name is Kuno Okura. I'm the Super High School Level Espionage. And you are, miss?"

She cleared her throat, then stated, "M-My name is **Paige Sato**,the **S-Super High School Level Historian**. N-Nice to meet you, Mr. Kuno Okura…"

"Yeah, same here-"

Suddenly, a small, childish-looking boy interrupted their conversation.

"Hey, guys! You looked all droopy and crap, so here I am!" he said with an awfully goofy smile. He didn't look nearly old enough to be at any high school. His complexion was very childlike, with his messy blond hair being held back with a black and green baseball cap, light blue eyes that had very distinctive blush marks under them, and a very rounded face. His clothes consisted of a black hoodie, tan Bermuda shorts, and black and white checkered sneakers. On his hands were lime green fingerless gloves. He had bandages strapped onto his right knee and the bridge of his nose.

"Who are y-y-you?!" Paige stuttered, quite startled by his sudden appearance out of the blue.

"Me? Don't tell me you've never heard of **Masahide Kotara**! The **Super High School Level Ping Pong Master **is standing before you! Bow down, peasants!" he said jokingly.

"D-Do I…have to?" Paige asked.

"Only if you must, my fair lady. You too, spy boy. Bow down!" Masahide said with a rather cocky smile.

"I assume you heard our conversation then, Mr. Kotara."

"Yup, you've got that right! Your name is Cube-O Okra, right?"

"…Kuno Okura. Close enough, I guess."

"Whatever. Heh, I like you. Maybe if there are some damn tables around here, I could play against you! Whelp, see ya around!" After saying that, Masahide gleefully bounced off, presumably to the next person he would demand to bow before him.

"I guess I'll…s-see you around, Kuno Okura," Paige said softly as she wandered off into a corner.

Kuno started to feel moderately comfortable around the students. Most of them were nice, with the exception of Akira, and most of them seemed to be fairly normal, with the exception of Ace and Pyonpyon-King. But those thoughts were quickly thrown away…

A girl who looked a lot younger than everyone else walked straight up to Kuno. The girl had very light pale skin, dark red eyes, and black hair put up into a loose bun with a yellow rose in it. A paintbrush was neatly placed behind her ear. She wore a painter's smock over a golden button-down shirt and black leggings, while her red high-heeled shoes boosted her height a bit. She gave Kuno an unsettling glare as she walked up to him.

"Hello there, miss," Kuno said politely, trying not to note on her dark appearance.

"…I'm **Haniji Tahame**. They call me the **Super High School Level Painter**. I like…painting…"

"Um, well, I'm Kuno Oku-"

"They tell me I take it too seriously. In reality, I only paint what I'm feeling. They'd…scold me for what I'd do. But I didn't care. I kept on painting. But they weren't as smart as me…" Haniji started to twirl her paintbrush around with her fingers, looking to be lost in thought. "Now, what was your name again?"

"K-Kuno Okura. Super High School Level Espionage. U-Um…I better get goi-"

"You're creeped out by me, aren't you, Kuno," Haniji said, a serious and dead look on her face.

"W-What?! No, I just wanna-"

"It's okay. I don't mind. You just don't understand…no one is intelligent enough to. Aw well. It's their loss." Haniji slowly walked away, her paintbrush still being fiddled with.

At a loss for words, Kuno figured he needed to go talk to some people who looked gleeful and not coldblooded. He hurriedly walked over to a group of four guys, hoping for some enlightenment.

* * *

**Hey guys! I didn't want to overwhelm you with introductions, so the next one will finish them up. If you're character did not appear, once again, don't panic. They'll be in the next one. In the meantime, happy despairing!**


	4. Meeting the Students: Part 2

After that rather unsettling event with Haniji, Kuno walked over to a group of guys chatting amongst themselves.

Fortunately, one of them noticed him. "Oh, hey, man!" one of them said, waving for him to come over. He had wavy, short, light brown hair, orange-brown eyes, and had a pretty well-toned body. He wore standard orange sports clothes and black sports shoes. His smirk could probably charm anyone in a fifteen mile radius.

Kuno happily walked up to him. "Thank god for saving me, sir," he thanked him.

"Yeah, yeah, some of these guys are pretty insane. Anyways, my name is **Ryota Suzuki**. I'm the **Super High School Level Soccer Star**. Nice to meet you, man!"

"Same here, Mr. Suzuki."

"Um, call me Ryota. Jeez, you make me sound like a business man or somethin'." Ryota looked over to the guy standing next to him. "Hey, Masaru! I caught a fresh one!"

The guy next to Ryota slowly turned to face Kuno. He had neatly-styled dark brown hair, pale golden eyes, and seemed pretty small and skinny for a guy his age. He gave Kuno a bright smile.

"Hey there. I'm **Masaru Nakamura**, the **Super High School Level Diplomat.**"

"I'm Kuno Okura. Super High School Level Espionage. Pleased to meet you, Mr. Nakamura."

Masaru started biting his lip, seeming to be deep in thought.

"Hey, Kuno, while Masaru's biting his lip off, you should go talk to those guys over there. They're pretty chill, I guess," Ryota said, nudging Masaru.

"Ugh…I'd usually say something rude but there are people around," Masaru said, his smile still plastered on his face.

"Oh please, you're just shy around all of these _men_." Ryota turned to Kuno. "Well, I guess you should go now. Unless you're in for some trouble."

"Yeah, I still need to introduce myself to quite a lot of people. Thank you for your time," Kuno said, politely waving to them as he walked over to the other guys in the same area.

Both of them looked pretty serious and engaged in conversation. "Excuse me, gentlemen,"Kuno said in an attempt to get their attention. They turned towards him in unison, their serious expression still present on their faces.

"Um…I'm Kuno Okura. I'm sure you've heard me talking to people around here, so…and you guys are?"

"**Daichi Okada**. **Super High School Level Mercenary**," one of them said rather coldly. He had unkempt brown hair, sharp grey eyes, and olive skin tone, and he was pretty well-toned. He wore a mercenary uniform that made him look like he belonged in a battlefield.

"…And I'm **Kiyoshi Nakashima**. I'm the **Super High School Level Boxer**," the man standing next to him said. They looked around the same age. Kiyoshi had short dark brown hair, bright hazel eyes, and a fair complexion. He wore plain blue shirt with long black shorts and brown sneakers. He seemed to act very awkwardly around Kuno.

After a few seconds of silence, Kiyoshi and Daichi turned back to each other and resumed their conversation. _And just when I thought that people around here were sociable, _Kuno thought helplessly as he walked over to a group of girls he hadn't met yet.

"Hello, you're a new face!" one of them said happily. She had warm hazel eyes, light brown hair that reached her mid-back, a frilly white headband, a very healthy complexion and was rather short. Her smile made Kuno feel slightly less hopeless.

"My name is Kuno Okura, the Super High School Level Espionage. And you are…?"

"Me? Well, I'm **Eiko Watanabe**, **Super High School Level Veterinarian**. I'm glad to meet you, Kuno!" Eiko said, her smile not leaving her face. "So you're, like, a spy?"

"I guess you could call me that, Ms. Watanabe."

Eiko's eyes lit up. "Oh, that's great! Then you'll get along with Natsumi here! She's a badass just like you, Kuno!" She turned to the girl standing next to her.

The girl standing next to Eiko hadn't expressed any emotion and just stared coldly at Kuno with her sharp purple eyes. Besides that, she had long white hair tied into a ponytail with a black bow. Her clothes consisted of a dark gray, baggy shirt over a black tank top, navy blue shorts and combat boots with black knee-high socks.

"Hello, miss. I'm Kuno O-"

"I heard," she said sharply, continuing to stare him down.

"U-Um…would you mind telling me your name?"

"…**Natsumi Ebihara**. **Super High School Level Sniper**. I'm not in the mood to speak with you right now…"

_Well, even though I ended on a low note, I believe that's everyone, _Kuno thought as Natsumi slowly turned back to Eiko, who gave him an encouraging smile. Just as he thought things couldn't get any more awkward…

"Kuno! Get your sorry ass over here!"

Speak of the Akira and she shall appear.

Before Kuno could walk over there, Akira quickly walked over to him. "Yes, Akira?" Kuno asked, trying his best not to get frustrated.

"Yeah, shut up for a sec. You hear that too, right?"

Kuno tried to listen for something, but he couldn't make out anything with the sounds of everyone in a conversation. "Sorry, it's kind of hard with everyone talking."

Akira rolled her eyes and sighed. "ALL RIGHT EVERYONE! SHUT THE HELL UP!"

The room fell silent as everyone turned to face Akira. "Okay, thanks for listening to me. Now does anyone else hear that sound?"

It somehow got even quieter as everyone tried to listen. A faint sound of static, like on a TV or radio, was heard.

"Now that you mention it," Ryota said, "It's the static, right?"

"Yeah, dumbass. Considering you're standing right next to a blinking monitor…"

"Who are you calling a dumbass?!" Ryota retaliated, angrily stomping over to Akira.

"Guys…_please _don't fight!" Eiko shouted, trying to separate them. She pushed both of them back.

"What's with you guys and TOUCHING ME?! First is the spy-loser over there, and now you? How many people here wanna freaking touch me?!"

"…I-I would n-never," Paige stuttered softly.

"Everyone here is so immature…" Daichi said rather coldly. Everyone turned to glare at him.

"I agree," Haniji stated. "All of you aren't nearly intelligent enough to grasp the true concept of art…you all make me sick to my stomach."

"That's pretty unconvincing coming from a _creepo_ like you!" Masahide shouted, his face contorting to an angry expression.

"Everyone, please! This isn't safe! Someone could get hurt!" Eiko said, desperately trying to break up all of the fighting.

"Please, this isn't right. You all need to calm down," Masaru added.

"CALM DOWN?!" Ryota shouted alarmingly. "How are we supposed to calm down when we don't even know where the hell we are?!"

Suddenly, the static of the monitor began to screech extremely loud. Everyone stopped arguing and looked up to the monitor. An undefinable figure appeared, its shape distorting along with light static on the screen.

"Mic check! Mic check! One…two…three…okay, glad that sucker works! Ahem! Now that you're all done blabbering to each other, I would like all students to report to the gymnasium _as soon as possible_! See you around! Upupupupu!"

The voice that came from it was so childlike and disturbing that it gave everyone chills. The monitor quickly flickered off, the static ceasing.

"…Calm down my ass…" Ryota muttered, rolling his eyes.

"W-What was th-th-that?!" Paige stuttered, chilled to the bone and shuddering.

"I think it is best that we go to the gymnasium and see what that was all about," Natsumi announced.

"To hell with that! There's no way I'm going after _that _display!" Akira shouted in her usual tone.

"Did you not hear me? I said, _I think it is best that we go to the gymnasium and see what that was all about_," Natsumi said coldly, about to lose her temper.

"…Hmph. If anyone gets killed in the process, it's that bitch's fault." Akira confidently stomped out of the room. Only a few people started to follow.

"…These bubs need to get their acts together," Elena said bluntly as she walked out.

Kuno looked over to the people who still remained in the room. Ryota, Masaru, Paige, Masahide, Pyonpyon-King, and Ace all stood against a wall, not budging.

"Aren't you guys going to come?" Kuno asked. "They said that we should go as soon as possible."

"I-I'm just…s-s-s-scared…" Paige said, slowly shifting her feet.

"Same here," Ryota agreed, standing awfully close to Masaru. "You never know what's gonna happen, y'know?"

"I think we should go, Ryota. Imagine what would happen if we didn't," Masaru replied. He then proceeded to drag an unenthused Ryota out the door to the gym.

Masahide let out a heavy sigh. "I don't want to, but I guess I should go, too." He sadly trudged out, all happiness he had before drained out of him.

Pyonpyon-King put its head down and walked out without a word.

"Paige…" Kuno started, but was quickly interrupted.

"Good to see you again, Okura-sama!" Ace gleefully squealed. "I think we should walk there together, should we not?"

"C-C-Can I come, too?" Paige asked shyly.

Ace turned to her and gave her an unpleasant and rather nasty glare. "Idiots like _you _don't socialize with real people like _us_. Leave now, you unlucky trash."

Kuno shockingly watched as Paige hurriedly ran out, sobbing her head off.

"Jeez, Ace, that was really harsh! You shouldn't speak to women that way."

Ace let out a slight chuckle. "Oh, Okura-sama. You're still so clueless, aren't you. There's a lot I must teach you. Now come along."

Ace grabbed Kuno's hand tightly and dragged him out into the hallway to the gym. Kuno was quite in shock that Ace was holding his hand so tightly.

Once everyone was gathered in the gym, they all started to talk amongst themselves. Ace was still holding on to Kuno, babbling on about how they were the only ones who had any luck.

The talking immediately ceased when the same voice from the monitor rang through the room.

* * *

**THERE IS A VERY IMPORTANT POLL IN MY PROFILE! PLEASE VOTE AND SELECT THREE STUDENTS!**


	5. The Phenom Arrives

"Upupupupu!"

The unsettling childlike voice rang through the gym, with everyone not knowing where it came from.

A lot of soft panicking happened around the room while Kuno tried to figure out where the source of the laughing came from.

"What's going on?!" Akira shouted. "Show us where you are right now!"

"I told you we shouldn't have come!" Ryota whined to everyone. "Now there's some kid around here laughing and we don't know where and why!"

The voice continued. "I'm _beary _happy to see that all of my students have made an appearance! Looks like no one gets an early punishment!"

"Early punishment?" Natsumi questioned, swirling around the room trying to find the source of the voice.

"Oh, stop looking around, you fools! I'm right over here!"

Suddenly, a very interesting figure appeared on a stage in front of all the students.

It was…a teddy bear?

"Whoa…It's a teddy bear!" Sugita exclaimed rather enthusiastically.

"Wha…TEDDY BEAR?! How _dare _you insult your HEADMASTER that way?!"

"Headmaster?! Our 'headmaster' is a freaking teddy bear?" Ryota shouted in disbelief.

"I'M NOT A TEDDY BEAR! GET IT THROUGH YOUR THICK SKULLS! I AM **MONOKUMA**, YOUR **HEADMASTER**!"

The teddy bear that claimed to call itself Monokuma didn't look like any normal teddy bear. Aside from it being able to move quite swiftly and talk in a very obnoxious voice, its design seemed to be split in half. One side of it was white and angelic, and the other side looked black and demonic with a flashing red eye and a sickening grin. Its voice was probably the most annoying thing that Kuno had ever heard.

"H-Headmaster? So we're…s-still in school?" Paige asked nervously.

"Still in school? Aw, don't be silly, little miss historian! You guys never really left Hope's Peak Academy! Upupupupu!" Monokuma laughed, its voice still murdering Kuno's eardrums.

"So…you claim to call yourself 'Monokuma' and the headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy?" Kuno asked. "If so…then why were we called here?"

"I'm glad someone _finally _asked!" Monokuma exclaimed, its red eye flashing. "Well, the first reason was to stop your ear-murdering arguing! Wow, was that annoying! Upupupu!"

"Hey, bear! Stop 'upupu'ing and tell us why the hell we're here!" Akira demanded, balling up her fists.

"Jeez! Someone's a pushy little bitch, aren't they!" Monokuma started maniacally laughing.

"…I'm getting annoyed…" Haniji stated, making her presence known throughout the room. She looked up at Monokuma with her usual dead expression "Your voice…makes me want to tear you in half…and paint a pretty picture of your disgusting bloody entrails…" she said with no expression.

"Upupupu! You think you're scary, huh? I'll have you know that the only things I'm scared of are MICE!"

"Weren't you telling us why you called us here?" Kiyoshi asked with great interest.

"Yes! Thanks for reminding me! Anyways, you have probably noticed all of the iron plates bolted to the walls, correct?"

Kuno remembered back when he first woke up in the strange classroom with Akira. There were huge iron plates on the walls. "Yes, I do remember that," Kuno replied. "In the classroom that I woke up in, they pretty much covered up the walls."

"I can confirm that," Daichi added. "I…might've tried to rip one off of the wall, but it didn't budge. They were bolted on pretty tight, I assume."

"Yes, very good! And most of the doors were locked, too! Did you notice _that_?!" Monokuma continued.

"Yeah, I did," Ryunosuke said, speaking up for the first time. "When I was walking around the halls, I tried to open some of the doors…and they didn't open."

"I was there, too!" Sugita added. "But why are you talking about it? It's just a whole bunch of big plates and locked doors…did I miss something important?"

"If your guys' heads weren't full of air, you would've noticed!" Monokuma shouted with disappointment. His demonic expression was quickly restored. "There's **no way out of Hope's Peak Academy**!"

"N-N-N-No way out?!" Paige said, almost about to burst into tears again. "Are we…t-t-trapped?!"

The room went completely silent until Monokuma spoke up again.

"You've got that right, little miss historian! You guys are all trapped in here! Isn't that just wonderful?!"

"T-Trapped?!" Ryota stuttered, about to lose his once cool nature. "WHY ARE WE TRAPPED?!"

"Does that mean…that we're stuck here _forever_?!" Masahide asked worriedly.

"…No. That's not possible. I _can't _stay here forever. I have…business…to take care of," Natsumi said, sounding a bit panicked.

"Yeah, what she said!" Ryota continued. "We all have lives we have to live! You can't just leave us here forever, bear!"

"Don't rush me, you brainless bastards!" Monokuma shouted at us. All of our bantering stopped. "As I way saying, before I was so rudely interrupted, you guys are all gonna stay here forever!"

"Hey, listen up, bub!" Elena shouted at it. "There's no way you're gonna keep us here forever, 'kay? There's gotta be some way out!"

"Well, is there a way out, Monokuma?" Masaru asked with a hint of agitation in his voice.

"T-There has to be! We could, like, burn the plates off or something like that!" Sugita yelled, clearly getting pissed off at Monokuma.

"YOU DIDN'T LET ME FINISH! I was about to tell you how to get out, you fools! Jeez, now I have to wait for you to be quiet…"

The gym went silent once again for about ten seconds straight, and then Monokuma cleared his throat.

"Ahem! As I was saying…there _is _a waaaaay out! I'm sure you guys aren't gonna like it, but it's the only way! Upupupu!"

"_Can you tell us now before I rip you apart_?" Natsumi said with her expression starting to slowly revert to an angry state.

"Since you've all been so patient, I guess I'll tell! It's _beary _simple! All you have to do is **kill one of your fellow classmates**!"

At those cold words, the whole room became silent once again. You could hear a pin drop. Everyone silently looked around at everyone, not believing that such a thing could be possible.

"K-Kill? You mean…'crazy stabbing bloody murder' kill?" Masahide asked, his voice shaking and cracking.

"Yes, that's the exact kill that I mean! You can use any killing method! As long as you kill, you get to leave!"

"No…you can't just make us kill each other!" Kuno shouted at Monokuma, beginning to let out his anger.

Some people were just shouting angrily Monokuma, while the others just stood there in silence and shock.

"You guys look really enthused! I'm glad! But, I almost forgot! There's a catch!"

"…Besides…murder?" Haniji asked, fiddling with her paintbrush.

"Yes! You can't just simply _kill _a classmate and then leave unscathed! That would be awfully boring! You see, in order to be able to leave, you must kill a fellow classmate and not get caught! A class trial will be held to see if you bastards can figure out who dunnit! If you figure them out, they alone will be punished! However, if you can't find the culprit, _they _alone will escape and the rest of the students will be punished!"

"...What do you mean by punished?" Daichi asked. Monokuma completely ignored his question.

"Oops! I almost forgot another thing! I still need to give out your ElectroiDs!" Monokuma started handing out little blue electronic iDs. They showed everyone's name and had a variety of features, including a list of the students and a map of the floor they were in. "Make sure you look at the 'rules' section! There, you'll have a list of specific rules that you must follow here at the academy!"

Kuno tapped on the _RULES _icon and a whole list popped up.

_1: In order to leave the academy, you must kill a fellow student and not get caught. After every murder, there will be an investigation period, and then a class trial will occur. If the culprit is caught, they alone are punished. If the killer is not caught, they are allowed to graduate and all of the remaining students are punished._

_2: Violence against the headmaster is strictly forbidden and will result in punishment._

_3: Breaking a security camera is strictly forbidden and will result in punishment._

_4: Night time occurs between 10:00 PM and 7:00 AM. Some areas will be closed during this time._

_5: With minimal restrictions, you are free to explore Hope's Peak Academy at your discretion._

_6: Additional school regulations will be added if necessary._

"Whelp, I'll be seeing you guys around! All of you guys have your own rooms, so why don't you go check those out? There are a whole bunch of places to explore, so I won't waste your time any longer! Happy despairing! Upupupu!"

Monokuma then disappeared, leaving all of the students standing there, frozen in disbelief.

Kuno looked around at all of his classmates. All of them had looks of worry and panic in their faces. He knew that deep down inside, none of them would have the urge to kill anyone. But if that was the only way, he regrettably knew that it was bound to happen.

It was kill or be killed.

The gym remained disturbingly silent until Daichi spoke up.

"We…We can't just stand here. We have to go look around. Maybe there is a way out. Maybe we can leave. We just have to look around."

"Um, did you just not hear that whole speech?!" Akira snapped at him. "There's no way outta here! We have to kill someone!"

"That's not necessarily true, Akira," Kuno assured her. "There could be some sort of escape route. We just have to look. That can't be the only way. You just have to trust us."

"Trust? _You? _Ha, you're kidding me, right?! If anyone's gonna kill, it's gonna be you, spy boy! You're a freaking spy! We can't trust a spy!"

Everyone around Kuno started to slowly back away from him. _There she goes again. Always ratting me out. Even though I haven't known her that long, _Kuno thought as he looked around him at all of the shocked faces.

"Akira, please don't go making accusations like that!" Eiko pleaded. "No one here has the drive to kill! I'm pretty sure that no one in here has actually killed or has the guts to kill someone! Right?"

Kuno could easily see how uncomfortable Natsumi looked in the distance.

"Yeah, we should go look around," Masaru said. "It would be best if we did."

"Okay, everyone. Once we're done looking around in groups, report to the cafeteria and tell us your findings," Daichi ordered. He then walked off with Kiyoshi, who had been unnervingly quiet the whole time.

Slowly and reluctantly, everyone started grouping up and leaving the gym. But before Kuno could join any group…

"Ah, Okura-sama! Join me! Together we shall explore this academy!"

Ace, who hadn't said an actual word during the whole ordeal, grabbed Kuno's hand and dragged him out of the gym.

Kuno was helplessly dragged to the hallway with all of the rooms. Every room had a little picture of everyone's face on it. Kuno's room was right in the middle of the hallway, in between the rooms of Haniji and Masahide. The rooms on the ends of the hallway belonged to Paige and Pyonpyon-King. Ace's room, which was right across from Kuno's, was in between the rooms of Natsumi and Daichi. _That's a relief, since they'll probably be able to keep Ace in check_, Kuno thought as he continued to be dragged around.

"Well, Okura-sama, do your spy senses detect anything suspicious around here?" Ace asked in his unsettling tone of voice.

"Not really. It seems like everyone has a room, and this hall looks relatively normal. It doesn't look like there are any dangerous weapons around here…"

He noticed that Pyonpyon-King was at the end of the hallway, standing by their room.

"Hey, Pyopnpyon-King. What are you doing?" Kuno called from the other end of the hallway.

Pyonpyon-King enthusiastically turned to Kuno and started to cheerfully jump up and down, clapping its hands.

"Um…do you know how to talk?" Kuno asked, watching Pyonpyon-King dance around. It didn't respond, and eventually hopped its way out of the corridor.

"Okura-sama! I have a question!"

Kuno turned to Ace, who was standing still in front of his own room.

"I've tried to open the door, but it won't open! Can you help me, Okura-sama? Maybe you'll be lucky enough to break down this door!"

Out of nowhere, Monokuma appeared. "No, no, no! There's no need for breaking down any doors!"

"Y-You! What do you want?!" Kuno asked, startled by his sudden appearance.

"I'm here to give you your room keys! Just so you don't go breaking anything and hurting yourselves." Monokuma handed Ace and Kuno their respective room keys. "I've already given everyone else their room keys, so you don't have to fret about that. I'll be seeing you guys around! Upupupu!"

Just like he had in the gym, Monokuma had completely disappeared.

"Oh, Okura-sama. There seems to be nothing interesting in this hall. Just everyone's rooms and a whole bunch of security cameras. I think we should start heading to the cafeteria." Ace grabbed ahold of Kuno and dragged him to the cafeteria where everyone else was waiting.

* * *

**The poll is still open! Vote while you can! I must also mention that it's clear who your favorite characters are. Everyone has at least one vote so far. Happy despairing!**


	6. Majority Rules

Kuno and Ace walked into the cafeteria, and everyone was already there. They received several glares as they walked in, but Kuno tried his best to ignore them. Even though he wasn't looking at her directly, he could tell that the Super High School Level Designer was probably giving him the nastiest look she could conjure up.

"It's about time you two got here," Daichi said to them. "We've been waiting for a while."

"Sorry about that. We were stopped in the middle of investigation when Monokuma popped up-" Kuno was interrupted right in the middle of his sentence.

"Oh, you're right!" Sugita exclaimed. "That teddy bear just totally popped up outta nowhere! He scared the shit outta me! He did give me a room key, though."

"That's right. Did everyone receive a room key?" Daichi asked the students. Everyone nodded in approval. "Good. Now, I think we should discuss what we found." He turned to Kuno and Ace. "Let's start with the late ones, since it was probably important for them to take so long."

Kuno sighed heavily at the last remark. "Okay. We were in the corridor with everyone's rooms. Each room had a picture of the owner near it to show whose it was. Nothing seemed to be too out of the ordinary, besides the security cameras everywhere. I think that's about it."

"Yes, that's right," Ace butted in. "I've memorized the location of everyone's rooms as well. Just in case I needed that extra information."

"Then why the hell did you take so long?" Akira asked harshly.

"I mean…" Haniji started. "Did you see how…they were holding hands…? My guess is that…they were…"

"No! It's nothing like that!" Kuno argued, but to no avail.

"As a heterosexual male, I can disprove your theory, Haniji. Ah, I would expect nothing more than a horrible accusation from unlucky _trash _like you."

"We don't need any more fights starting," Eiko tried to convince them. "We haven't even known each other for that long! Why is everyone so violent?"

"I can think of a few reasons," Natsumi said, blatantly looking toward Akira.

"Hey, don't blame everything on one person!" Masahide shouted. "Sure, she's an asshole, but is the majority of everyone here!"

"The only ones starting the fights are the unlucky ones…" Ace muttered, but apparently it was loud enough for some of the students to hear.

"Oh, _please_, Ace!" Masahide continued. "While I was walking to the gym, I heard what you did to Paige. Right?"

"H-He called me…t-trash…" Paige stuttered, about to start sobbing again.

"Well maybe if you weren't so insecure and vulnerable, you'd actually be able to stand up to that asshole!" Akira yelled at Paige.

"P-Please don't y-y-yell at me!" Paige begged, using her arms to protect her face.

"Everyone, please calm down," Ryunosuke said in an attempt to calm us all down. "If we stop getting into all of these fights, then maybe no one will die."

The cafeteria went completely silent. That is, until, Daichi cleared his throat.

"Ahem. Now that you're all done yapping, let's continue the discussion on what we've found. Who would like to share now?"

Eiko spoke up, "I'll go! Okay, so Natsumi and I were walking around the kitchen. It's right there, by the way." She pointed so a small room connected to the front of the cafeteria. "Anyways, there was a whole fridge full of food and drinks and stuff. I was worried about whether or not the food and stuff would last, but Monokuma came and told me that the food was restocked daily. So we don't have to worry about starving."

"But what if he poisoned the food or something like that?" Sugita asked with worry.

"Don't worry, Sugita. I already ate some, anyways. I don't feel like I'm about to collapse and die, so I think it's safe to eat." Suddenly, her eyes reflected an expression of concern. "Oh, yeah…there was a whole bunch stuff that could be used as murder weapons as well. Lots of big knives and meat shears. It's best that we only use those for food purposes."

"Okay. Thank you, Eiko," Daichi responded. "Who's next?"

"I guess I'll talk," Ryunosuke said. "So Sugita, Ryota, Masaru and I went to back to the main entrance where we all met each other. Aside from the big iron plates and security cameras everywhere, nothing new appeared. All four of us tried to tear one down, but it didn't work. So we can't leave that way."

"Good. Who's next?"

"…I went alone," Haniji said, expressionless as usual. "There was a recreation room…or something like that. There were a whole bunch of video games…and a big ping pong table. Unfortunately, there are no art supplies that I have seen so far…"

"I'll just go next," Elena said quite loudly. "That little sweetheart Paige and I went to the library. It's just a whole bunch of books. It's really creepy, though."

"I-I think that it-s quite w-wonderful…I enjoy libraries…" Paige said softly, still on the verge of tears from the previous events.

"Oh, and I went to this big ballroom or something like that. It was way too formal for me!" Masahide exclaimed. "There was this huge chandelier and stuff!"

"Okay, good." Daichi turned to the Kigurumi, who was remaining awkwardly still. "What did you find, Pyonpyon-King?"

Pyonpyon-King didn't say anything or start dancing, like it usually would. It just stood there, its freakishly adorable face staring at Daichi.

"U-Um…we're clearly not gonna get anything out of that thing." He then turned to Akira. "And what did you find?" He tried not to sound too pushy, trying not to set Akira off again.

"Nothing you need to know," she said coldly, turning away from Daichi.

"You're not helping, Akira," Kuno said, walking over to her.

"If you touch me again, spy boy, I swear to god…"

"Can't you just tell us what you found? Please?" Masaru asked politely.

"I said it was none of your damn business!" With that, Akira stood up, put her hand on her hip and strutted out of the cafeteria without another word.

"Jeez, what's her problem?" Elena wondered out loud.

"…I don't know. I'm just glad that she's gone for now. And now that we're done discussing our findings, we should…um…" Daichi paused, appearing to be deep in thought.

"Uh, Daichi?" Kiyoshi asked in concern.

"…What _do _we do now?"

The room went silent once again. _Hmm, is there anything else that we can do? _Kuno wondered, looking around the room.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm gonna go see what's up with Akira," Elena said. She then proceeded to bounce out of the cafeteria.

"Man, I really hope Akira doesn't kill her or anything," Ryota stated.

"Remember what I said? No one has the drive to kill," Eiko reminded us. "If someone's gonna kill, they have to have a good reason to."

"We already have a good reason to…" Haniji stated. "If we kill…we get to leave. Don't you remember?"

"Yeah, b-but…there still could be a way out that we don't know about! Have you seen all of the locked doors around here? Maybe they'll open one day," Eiko said with hope.

"…I'm going to my room." Natsumi walked out coldly without another word.

Paige walked out quietly, presumably going to the library to read.

Everyone then slowly followed, quietly walking out. In the cafeteria, the only ones there were Kuno, Ace, Masahide, Haniji, Ryunosuke, and Sugita. Masahide was the first to speak. "Well, I'm going to that rec room you were talking about, Haniji. You said there was a ping pong thing, right?"

"Yes…I did…"

"Then come and play with me! It'll be fun!" Masahide grabbed Haniji's arm and pulled her out of the cafeteria.

This left Kuno, Ace, Ryunosuke, and Sugita alone in the cafeteria. They all looked at each other awkwardly until Sugita broke the silence.

"Um…so what should we do?"

Ryunosuke shrugged. "I don't know…I just want some food." He then walked over to the kitchen, signaling for Sugita to follow him.

"Hey, why don't you guys come with us? I'm sure you're all starving!" Sugita asked.

Kuno nodded and followed her. Ace reluctantly followed behind Kuno, muttering about how he didn't want to hang out with unlucky idiots like those two. Kuno was a bit worried about Ace being around giant knives, but he didn't stop going to the kitchen. He _was _extremely famished, after all.

* * *

Elena had banged on Akira's door for the past five minutes, but she didn't get a single response.

"Akira, please! Why are you being so moody?!" Elena asked worriedly, continuing her door banging. Eventually, Akira got fed up and angrily opened her door.

"Akira? Are you o-"

"Listen up, freak show. If you bang on that door _one more time_, we're gonna have a class trial. So STOP!"

"I just want to know why you stormed out all of a sudden! Don't hurt me, sweetheart!"

Akira sighed. "It's…it's nothing. Nothing I'd want to talk about, anyway."

"We could talk about it in private, if you want."

"…No." Akira forcefully slammed the door on Elena's face, who was wondering why Akira was being more of an asshole than usual.

* * *

"Ryunosuke and I? Oh, we go _waaaay _back!" Sugita responded to Kuno's question. "I assume you knew Ace in advance, right? I mean, you guys are so close already!"

"Even I wasn't lucky enough to know Kuno beforehand…shame on me," Ace answered as Kuno nodded.

"Yeah, the first time we met was just a while ago."

"Then why are you two obsessed with each other? Are you guys gay?"

"I believe that I stated that I was a heterosexual earlier, didn't I? Jeez, you idiots don't know when to listen, do you?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to be offensive…" Sugita paused for a moment. "Ryunosuke's gay, though."

"Sugita, I'm _pansexual_. There's a difference," Ryunosuke answered quietly, blushing a bit. He started anxiously fiddling with his fingers.

"Am I _lucky _enough to be the only actual heterosexual here?" Ace asked, his voice slowly getting more unsettling.

Sugita shrugged. "I mean, I'm demisexual, but I don't know if that counts or not…what about you, Kuno?"

* * *

Daichi nervously walked into the library, keeping his tough-guy act in tact as he looked around at the room. It was very dusty and the lighting was…poor, to say the least. A single dim lamp was the only light source in the library. Sitting at the desk where the lamp shone was Paige, who seemed to be invested in some sort of book about Hope's Peak Academy.

"…Paige?"

Paige, obviously startled, gasped and looked up to see Daichi standing there, mercenary uniform and all. "H-Hello, Daichi," she responded with her usual stutter, slowly looking back down at her book.

Daichi slowly walked over to where Paige sat. "What are you reading?" he asked with interest.

"Oh? W-Well, it's just a book about the history of Hope's P-Peak Academy." She started to fidget in her seat. "It's just records of all of the s-s-students…and information about the s-school from the past. This stuff interests me, I guess."

Daichi nodded. Then, a curious question popped into his head. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but…_why are you so insecure and shy_?"

Paige froze, and then quickly put her book down. "W-Why are you asking me? W-W-W-What did I d-d-do?!"

"No, you didn't do anything!" Paige abruptly relaxed, her expression becoming slightly calmer. "I'd just like to know. Since that whore Akira brought it up earlier. You don't really talk to anyone, anyways. I'm just curious."

Paige sighed. "Well…I-I'm not experienced at all when it c-comes to talking to people. Actually, I've only _actually _t-talked to one person in my life."

"And who is that?"

"M-My…brother…he t-took care of me…I n-never knew my parents, though. He was always there for me when no one else was…" Tears started to form in Paige's eyes. "B-But…what if I never s-see him again? He's the one that inspired me to become a h-historian…I d-don't think I've ever th-thanked him enough for all he's d-done…"

"You don't have to worry. We'll all get out of here. And you'll get to-"

"I-I'm gonna g-g-g-get killed!" Paige started hysterically sobbing, her head in her arms on the desk. Daichi started feeling a little sorry for her as the sound of her loud crying engulfed the silence of the room.

He walked over next to her and put his hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. "It's okay, Paige. We're gonna get out together, okay? We're all gonna live. And I'll make sure that you do."

Paige's crying slowly ceased. She looked up at Daichi with hope in her eyes.

"…You're right…"

* * *

"This…is not…fair…"

Haniji was panting heavily and sweating buckets as she glared up at Masahide, who was giving her his usual smile of arrogance.

"What's…the score…"

"I think it's about…fifty four to two? Heh, I let you have those two."

"This is not funny…I think we're done…Masahide."

"Whelp, if ya say so! It was nice playing with you. So whaddya wanna do now?" Masahide asked cheerfully.

"…N-Now?"

"Yeah, now! If we're hanging out and crap, we've still got a lot more to do! Speaking of which, I'm hungry. Are you, Haniji?"

"…I…guess."

"Then let's go to the kitchen and get some grub!" Without warning, Masahide grabbed Haniji and dragged her to the kitchen, where they found Kuno, Ace, Sugita, and Ryunosuke in a rather interesting conversation.

"So _am _I the only one lucky enough to be born a heterosexual?"

"Ace, stop pushing him! Sexuality is a very touchy subject!" Sugita shouted at him angrily.

Ace turned to Haniji and Masahide, who had just walked in on the conversation. "You two! Are any of _you_ _idiots_ heterosexual?"

The room went completely silent.

"All of this _gay _is going to infect me! Okura-sama, please accompany me to my room!"

With an annoyed, heavy sigh, Kuno was dragged out of the kitchen by Ace and to the hall with all of the rooms, where a certain someone was standing and singing to themselves.

"Kiyoshi? What are you doing?" Kuno asked, getting the boxer's attention.

"Hm?"

"Oh Okura-sama, don't waste yourself on unlucky garbage such as him."

"Garbage?" Kiyoshi turned his back to them. "Okay. If that's my new name, then go ahead. Garbage Nakashima…that sounds promising." He then walked to his room, going inside without another word.

It had been a few hours since the whole ordeal with Kiyoshi, and Kuno was sitting inside of his room. It wasn't an overly-spectacular room, but at least the bed was comfortable to him. He just sat in that bed, fiddling with his ElectroiD, when the monitor in his room flickered on.

Monokuma appeared on the screen. "Attention, students! The time is now 10:00 PM, which means that Night Time is in effect. The doors to the cafeteria will be locked momentarily. Make sure to have a good night's sleep and prepare for tomorrow! Upupupu!" It then turned off, leaving Kuno in his room with unbearable silence.

He decided the best thing to do was sleep, so he attempted to. But his mind was full of so many thoughts…_Why are we here? Why do we have to kill each other? What does that stupid bear want from us?_

Then he started thinking of his fellow classmates. _Why is Ace so freaky? What's up with Akira? What the hell is in that damn animal suit?! How come the minority of students here are straight? _

He eventually drifted into a light sleep, but he had no clue what events would unfold the next day…

* * *

**There is a new poll up! Please go and vote for ONE student! ~Happy despairing!~**


	7. The Search

*bzzzzzt*

The monitor flickered on.

"Good morning, students! It's seven in the morning! Time to wake up! Let's all strive to do our best today!"

Kuno groggily sat up from his bed, looking at his unfamiliar surroundings. It was his second day of being in a game of mutual killing, and yet all he wanted to do was eat breakfast.

Realizing that he hadn't changed from yesterday, he took a very quick shower and then put those clothes back on. He didn't feel like moving at all that morning. His head was still clouded with all of the thoughts he had from the previous night. With a groan, he went out the door and started heading towards the cafeteria.

Just when he thought the morning couldn't get any worse…

"Good morning, Akira."

Akira, who had been extremely distant yesterday afternoon, stood still in the hallway with her hand glued to her hip and looking to be deep in thought. She was looking in the direction of the cafeteria. "Yeah. Same."

"Are you going to get breakfast?"

"…No. Not in the mood. 'Sides, it's probably contaminated with Monokuma germs." She looked straight into Kuno's eyes. "If any of those assholes ask, you didn't see me. Okay?"

"Seriously, Akira. What's going on?"

"I told you yesterday. It's none of you damn business."

"…If you don't come, they'll all be worried about you. They'll think you were killed or something."

"Hmph. Like those losers care about me. Well same with all of them. I don't give a crap if any of them die. Now get lost, spy boy-"

"Nice conversation, there." Kiyoshi had been standing by his outside his door the whole time, listening to Kuno and Akira's conversation. "So you don't care if we die, right?"

"That's what I said…what's your name again?"

"Me?" Kiyoshi gave Kuno a slight glare. "My name is Garbage Nakashima. Super High School Level Trash. Pleased to meet you."

"Ugh. Whatever." Akira walked off in the opposite direction, muttering something hard to make out.

Kuno looked over to Kiyoshi. "Sorry about yesterday, Mr. Nakashima. Even though I haven't known him that long, I know that Ace is gonna be like that all of the time. Calling people trash and stuff like that…"

Kiyoshi gave him a little smirk. "Don't worry about it. I'm fine. I just…want food." He started walking to the cafeteria, leaving Kuno behind.

_I wonder what his deal is_, Kuno thought, starting to head to the cafeteria. As he walked over to it, the only things that he thought about were Akira's harsh words. _'Like those losers care about me. Well same with all of them. I don't give a crap if any of them die.' Did she really mean that? Or is her mean girl act all a façade? _

Before he knew it, Kuno was standing in the cafeteria. Not everyone was there, however. The only ones in the room were him, Kiyoshi, Natsumi, Eiko, and Masahide.

"Good morning, Kuno!" Eiko greeted him cheerfully.

"Nice to see you, man!" Masahide said with a smile.

Natsumi sat on a table, intently staring at the ceiling and drinking bubble tea. She averted her gaze to Kuno for about one second, and then continued staring at the ceiling.

"Hey, Kuno, you wanna get some food?" Eiko asked thoughtfully. "You look pretty hungry."

"Yeah, I guess." Kuno followed Eiko to the kitchen, trying to forget the events of what happened there yesterday.

Kuno looked into the fridge, the cold air blasting in his face. He didn't see anything he really wanted, so he shut the door and continued looking around the room. Eiko seemed to be deep in thought.

"Are you okay, Eiko?"

"Hmm…Something doesn't seem right in here, but I can't put my finger on it." She gasped. "Kuno! Use your spy powers! Stat!"

"…Spy powers?"

"Yeah, since you're a spy and all that, you can use your spy powers and stuff!" Eiko exclaimed. "Now…do you see anything weird around here?"

Kuno looked around the room, still confused about why everyone thought that he had super powers for being a spy. Nothing looked different to him. Until…

"Wait a minute." Kuno walked over to the counter next to the fridge. Next to the fridge was a toaster, a microwave, a knife block, and a bunch of chips spilled everywhere.

"Aside from all of these chips, there seems to be a knife missing from the knife block. And the only empty spot is the one that would belong to the largest knife…"

Eiko gapsed once again, but this time, she sounded everything but excited. "The l-largest knife?! Does anyone around here know how dangerous those things can be?! What if…Is someone trying to kill someone?"

Kuno's eyes widened at that thought. _Why would anyone want to kill anyone right now? We're still just looking for a way out- _Before Kuno finished his thoughts, Eiko dragged him out of the kitchen and into the cafeteria.

"We _have _to find that knife! Before anyone gets hurt!" Eiko practically yelled. She completely lost her usual calm nature. All she wanted to do was make sure no one got hurt. "Okay…Okay. Let's split up. I'll go that way, and you'll go the other way." She dashed out of the cafeteria.

"What was that all about?" Natsumi asked from the table she sat on.

"Well, the biggest knife from the kitchen is missing, and Eiko and I are trying to find it. Do you want to help?"

"…I'll leave that to you guys." Natsumi walked out of the cafeteria, most likely heading to her room.

"Masahide?"

"Oh? Well, believe me, man, I would, but I have…business to take care of."

"What kind of business?"

"Um, I, uh, see ya later, man!" Masahide sprinted out of the cafeteria, muttering something inaudible.

Kuno shrugged and walked out of the cafeteria in search of the knife. _What if someone was actually planning to kill someone? _Kuno thought as he looked around the hall. _Maybe I should go ask someone_ _if they know what happened_…

* * *

This felt like déjà vu to Ryota.

He quickly walked up and down every hall, looking for Masaru. He hadn't seen him since the day before, and he started to get worried if he was okay or not. "Masaru? Where are you?"

Just like it had happened yesterday, he bumped into Elena again.

"I assume you're looking for Masaru, am I right?"

"Well, yeah…"

"Okay, then! I'm gonna help you this time! And you can't deny my help, got that?"

Ryota sighed heavily at that thought, thinking about what would happen if Elena kept nagging him with questions. "Ugh, yeah, I guess," he said with reluctance.

Elena squealed with glee, and then the two proceeded to try and find Masaru.

After a few moments of searching, Elena started with the questions. "So...why are you so close with him?"

"Masaru?"

"Of course! He's the only one you actually talk to. Why is that, sweetheart?"

"I don't know. We've just known each other for a long time. He's a good friend of mine. That's…pretty much it."

"Then why don't you try to make some new friends? You can't just stick to one person. I've tried to befriend everyone here, and they all seem nice!"

"Considering that my options include an absolute bitch, a luck-obsessed freak, and a stuffed hamster, I think I'll pass."

"But what about me? Good ol' Elena's pretty nice, am I right?"

"I guess. You're cool. Just a little…clingy. To me."

Elena got slightly closer to Ryota. "Well, I love ya, sweetheart. I love everyone here. No matter how weird or creepy or rude they are, I'm not letting anyone down."

It went quite silent after that. Ryota couldn't stop thinking about where Masaru was and if he was okay. If he was murdered, then Ryota's world would practically be over.

* * *

Eiko dashed through the halls, harder and faster than she had ever physically moved before. It wasn't like her to be so freaked out, but she didn't want to think about what would happen if someone got ahold of that knife. As she ran, constant horrible thoughts ran through her head. _What if someone was already dead? Is there really a murderer among us?_

She ran into the library, desperate for answers.

Instead of answers, she found a historian. Paige sat at her usual desk, reading the same book she had read the day before.

"Oh, Paige!" Eiko exclaimed, running up to her. Paige looked up from her book, concern in her sad eyes.

"W-What?! What h-h-happened?!"

"Someone around here has a knife, and I have to find it before something bad happens. Is there any chance you saw that really big knife anywhere? The one from the kitchen?"

Paige sighed. "I was in the k-kitchen earlier, b-but…I didn't s-s-see any knife there. To be honest, I didn't really pay attention to anything around me…"

"That's okay." Eiko was about to walk out, but then a question popped into her head. "Hey, Paige. What were you doing in the kitchen, exactly?"

"Just g-getting f-f-f-food…But then I saw Ace walking in, so I r-ran away as f-fast as I could…"

_Ace! Of course! He probably has it! I have to find him! _"Do you know where he is now?"

"I'm n-not sure…"

"Gotta go! Thanks anyways!" Eiko dashed out of the library and headed towards Ace's room, hoping to find some answers there.

* * *

Akira stood in the grand ballroom, taking in her surroundings.

It was certainly much nicer than any place she had ever been before. She felt a little unsafe about the huge chandelier, thinking it would fall, but it was so pleasing to look at.

_At least I'm away from all of those losers now. The last thing I wanna do is talk to anyone…_

Akira was startled when she heard the door close without her touching it. She turned around to see who it was, and to her surprise…

"What the hell do you want? Get lost, kigurumi freak!"

Pyonpyon-King stood by the door, its big red eyes directing at Akira's annoyed face. It started jumping up and down and waving its arms around. It still didn't make any noise.

"Are you trying to tell me something?"

Pyonpyon-King didn't even signal a response, such as nodding its head. It just continued jumping around, frantically flailing its arms.

Akira looked at it in utter confusion. _What's this thing's deal? It's better than wasting my breath on Kuno or someone like that, but I wish this damn kigurumi could talk…_

Pyonpyon-King started hopping over to a bewildered Akira. "I said to get lost! Just leave!" Unfortunately, her agitated shouting had no effect on it. It eventually was face to face with Akira. She stared Pyonpyon-King right in its glassy eyes. "Tell me what you want!"

It pointed up to the big chandelier that hung in the center of the room, which hung directly over their heads. "What about it?" She looked up at it. "It's just a chande-oh, hell no! Not now!"

Monokuma was swinging from the chandelier. "Woohoo! Hello there, students! Having fun with your killing game?" He hopped down from the chandelier and landed in front of the two students. "So…you guys having fun or what?!"

"What do you think, bear?"

"That sounds like a definite _yes _to me! Upupupu!"

"Are you deaf, then? I'm not having any fun! I wanna get the hell out of this damn school!"

Monokuma sadly looked down at the ground. "Aww…looks like little miss designer isn't feeling as joyful as I am! And I assume that you have the same answer, right?" he asked, looking over to Pyonpyon-King.

In response, Pyonpyon-King started to vigorously shake its head, signaling that he wasn't enjoying the killing game.

"Oh dear, you bastards are so hard to please! Fine, then! If you aren't having any fun, I'll make you guys have fun!" Monokuma pulled out a chainsaw from behind him and jumped up to the top of the chandelier.

"W-What are you doing, bear?!"

"I'm just having fun! Upupu!" As he continued to laugh, he started sawing the chain that held the chandelier to the ceiling.

* * *

Kuno sat in the hallway with everyone's rooms in it and held his head in his hands.

Today wasn't going very well for him. Aside from being trapped in a school and being forced to kill someone, for the second day as well, he still had no idea who had that knife. _It's getting late…I'm so tired…maybe Eiko can handle it by herself. She seemed pretty into it. Man, I hope that she can…_

He lifted his head up, and to his surprise, someone was standing over him.

"Oh…I thought that…you were dead…" Haniji said with her lifeless expression.

"I'm fine, Haniji. What are you doing here?"

"Looking…for Masahide. Have you-"

"No, I haven't. I've been busy. Hey, do you possibly know if anyone is hiding a huge knife anywhere?"

Haniji thought about it for a moment, and then spoke up. "…Yes, I have…I saw him in the kitchen earlier…he just grabbed the knife…and walked out…"

Kuno's face lit up. "Who? Who took it?"

Before she could finish…

_*CRAAASSSHHH*_

"What was that?!" Kuno yelled as he stood up from where he sat. "Where did that come from?"

Suddenly, the monitor flickered on. "Ahem! Will all students report to the ballroom? Seriously, it's really important! See you guys there!" The screen abruptly turned black.

"…Come on. Let's go." Kuno and Haniji started walking towards the ballroom.

On their way there, they ran into Eiko, who looked unusually pale and out of breath.

"Eiko? What happened?" Kuno asked worriedly.

"I..was…oh god, I need to sit down…I was looking for that knife _all day_. And then there was that incident with Ace…"

"Ace? What happened with A-"

"I'll tell you later! I'm going to the ballroom!" Eiko said rather angrily, storming off in the direction of the ballroom. Kuno noticed that Haniji had left, so he just shrugged it off and continued to speed-walk to the ballroom.

Once he got there, almost everybody was present. The first thing he noticed was a whole bunch of glass piled up on the floor. Ace immediately ran up to him and dragged him to where he was standing. "Okura-sama! I haven't seen you all day? Where were you?"

"Around. Doing things. Do you know why we're here?"

Monokuma suddenly popped up, chainsaw in hand. "Hellllooooo! This is Monokuma, back with some more news for ya!"

"Hold on a minute!" Daichi interrupted. He looked around the room. "Not everyone is here yet."

"The real thing I'm wondering is where that huge chandelier went!" Sugita exclaimed. "There _was _a chandelier, right? I'm not crazy, right?"

Monokuma started laughing to himself. "You're definitely crazy, but there _was _a chandelier here! As you can see by the huge pile of glass that's next to me, it's no longer hanging! Its days are over!"

"Yeah, okay, great. Is Masaru here?" Ryota asked, walking around the room. Everyone shrugged. Ryota, with a panicked expression, turned to Monokuma. "He's not…dead…right?"

"What? Of course not! If he was, I certainly would be a lot happier than I am!"

"Then where the hell is he?!"

"Little mister diplomat is unable to attend today's meeting. He's beary busy today!"

"Why is he busy?! Where is he?!"

"Upupupu! That's for me to know and for you to find out!" Monokuma turned back to the students. "Anyways, as you can see, the chandelier has been brutally murdered! Wanna know why?"

The room went silent. "Ugh, you guys are awful at guessing! The reason why it's broken is because two of you bastards have been very naughty! And as you can tell, they aren't here right now!"

As soon as Monokuma said that, Kuno automatically realized who wasn't there. "Akira and Pyonpyon-King…where are they?"

"Upupupu! I'm sure they're fine! The kigurumi got hurt pretty badly, but he's under good care! The designer is doing just fine! She's probably in her room or something-"

"I'm right here, you asshole!" Akira walked into the room, her appearance startling everyone. Her body was severely battered and bruised, with several dark marks and scratches. "Thanks to you, I'm gonna have to wash a whole bunch of freaking bloodstains out of my designer clothes! Just because I don't like you doesn't mean you have to drop a chandelier on me! You almost killed us!"

"Now, wasn't that fun, though? I was only trying to have fun with you guys, since you all looked so gloomy!"

"That doesn't mean that you should go around and drop chandeliers on people!" Eiko snapped at him. "Why did you even call us here in the first place? It's really late!"

"I was just gonna tell you losers that I want to meet you all here tomorrow morning as soon as you get up! You'll have no time to go and get food, you have to directly report here by seven-thirty! Got that?"

"Seven-thirty?!" Akira whined. "That's not nearly enough time to get ready in the morning!"

"Jeez, fine! Seven-thirty one! Got that? Okay, I'll be seeing you guys around!" Monokuma disappeared, leaving everyone standing in the room in silence.

Eiko finally spoke up. "All right. Now that I all have you in one place, who took the big knife?! I've been looking around _all day _and I have to know before someone gets hurt! So who took it?"

After the few seconds that nobody responded, Eiko began to get frustrated. "_Please, guys! I don't want anyone to get hurt!_" she said through clenched teeth.

Monokuma suddenly popped up again. "Oops! I almost forgot! Here's that knife you were looking for!" he said, handing it to Eiko. "Bye! Upupu!" He disappeared once again, leaving Eiko speechless and beyond angry.

"I spend almost the _whole _day looking for that knife to protect everyone…and that bear had it the whole time?" After she started cursing, she stomped out of the ballroom, and everyone soon followed. Kuno went straight to his room and hopped into bed.

* * *

**Hi guys! Sorry about the delay, I had a whole bunch of stuff going on. Did anyone catch my little reference to NicoB? Anyways, there's a NEW POLL in my profile! You get to select your two favorite students. Last time, the clear favorite was Ace. I wanna see if any new favorite pops up! Happy despairing!**


	8. A Game for Two

_To everyone, they brought despair…_

_For their misery, they did not care…_

_They rounded up a few more and then…_

_The killing game began again…_

* * *

*bzzzzzt*

"Good morning, students! It's seven in the morning! Time to wake up! Let's all strive to do our best today!"

Kuno woke up with a heavy groan, not wanting to do any physical activity whatsoever. He sat up and looked around his room. He still had some getting-used-to to do, but it was far better than being dead.

"I have to be in the ballroom by seven-thirty one…right?" Kuno reminded himself, getting up from his bed and stretching. Since thirty one minutes wasn't nearly enough time to fully get ready, all he did was quickly rinse off and put on a new change of clothes.

He had to remember to thank Akira for those extra sixty seconds.

Kuno slowly opened his door, which creaked heavily, and walked into the dim hallway. He forgot to close his door, but he thought nothing of it. No one was around, so he was a little glad that he wouldn't be interrupted this time. After looking around at his surroundings, he trudged on to the ballroom. He looked down at his watch and read the time. "Seven twenty-four…I'll be fine," he said to himself.

Once he got into the grand ballroom, everyone was clearly already there. Even Pyonpyon-King made an appearance, despite being severely injured from yesterday's events. The suit itself, however, looked more torn up than usual. There were even more stitch marks scattered around it, and the crown it wore on its head had a few bits chipped off.

To Kuno's surprise, Masaru showed up as well, but he looked completely fine. He stood fairly close to Ryota, like he usually did. Kuno walked over to him.

"Oh? Hey there, Kuno!" Masaru greeted him cheerfully, a smile plastered on his face.

Before Kuno could reply, Ryota interrupted him. "Can you believe this guy, Kuno? He doesn't remember anything that happened yesterday!" he practically shouted.

"You…don't?" Kuno asked with concern.

"I swear, I was with you guys the whole time! I wasn't doing anything by myself…"

"Seriously, dude?! Monokuma said you were 'busy' with something," Ryota reminded him.

"I don't remember _that _ever happening. We were all in this ballroom and Monokuma said we had to return here by seven-thirty one this morning. Guys, really, I have no clue what you're talking about. When I heard that big crashing noise, and then he said to come over here, I did."

Ryota sighed heavily. "That damn bear must've done something to you…that bastard!"

Suddenly, just like on cue, Monokuma popped up from behind the remnants of the broken chandelier.

"'That bastard' has entered the building! Hello, students!"

Ryota was the first to speak up. "Yeah, yeah, now tell me what you did to Masaru, will ya?"

"Masaru? Who's that?" Monokuma said with a snide tone. "I've never heard of such a person!"

Masaru shuffled his feet uncomfortably. "I don't think did anything to me, Ryota. I remember everything that happened yesterday when I was with all of you guys."

"Masaru, you _weren't _here!" Eiko assured him from across the room. "Besides, if you were, I would've interrogated you for that knife." She glared up at Monokuma. "But a _certain someone _in here had it the whole time…"

"And you would've remembered that whole thing with that damn chandelier," Akira pointed out.

"I remember all of that," Masaru told them. "Eiko was freaking out about that knife and Akira got injured from the chandelier…Pyonpyon-King, too."

Pyonpyon-King started jumping up and down and cheerfully clapping his hands.

"YAWN! Can we stop talking about little gay boy over here and start talking about the real reason we're here?!" Monokuma whined.

Masaru looked up at him with confusion. "…Little gay boy?"

"Ahem! As you can see, I'm very bored with the lack of excitement there's been!" Monokuma continued, ignoring Masaru's remark. "It's the third day, and no one has even made a move! What I'm saying is that I want someone dead, and I want them dead TODAY!"

"No one's going to kill anyone just because you ask us to," Natsumi said sharply.

"She's right! If you want somebody to get killed and stuff, there's gotta be a good reason!" Sugita said angrily.

Monokuma did its eardrum-bursting laugh. "Upupu! You guys are right! Totally and completely true! That's why I have prepared a little incentive for you guys to start killing!"

"Incentive? What the hell does that mean?" Masahide asked.

"Some motivation! A motive, if you will! Upupupu!"

"Well…whatever it is, I'm sure no one's gonna kill for it!" Elena said confidently. "Am I right?"

"It…depends…" Haniji responded quietly, fiddling with her paintbrush.

"Then everyone who _isn't _a creepo!" Elena continued. Haniji was fuming in the back, but she kept her temper under control.

"Now that everyone's hopefully done yapping, can you tell us this motive you speak of?" Daichi questioned.

"Yes! Thank god, I get to interrupt you fools and your bickering!" Monokuma exclaimed. "Now, where was I…oh, yes, my motive! You know how I told you about the trials and the punishment and the culprits and stuff like that?"

Everyone slowly nodded. "Good, good! The usual outcome would be that if someone gets away with a murder, they _alone _will be able to leave? Well, here's your motive! **If you murder someone and you aren't caught, you get to leave **_**with another person of your choice**_!"

The whole room, which it had done many times in the past, had gone completely silent.

"So, you're saying…if we kill someone, we get to take someone with us when we leave?" Ryota asked, giving a slight glance towards Masaru."

"Ding ding ding! That's correct! Now remember, once a body has been found, an announcement will sound! It requires three people to see the body before the announcement is sounded! I want you guys to have a lot of fun, okay?! Don't let me down! I'll be seeing you bastards later! Upupupu!"

With that, Monokuma disappeared, leaving all of the students stunned in silence. Kuno looked around the room and saw many shocked and disturbed faces. His gaze was averted to Ace, who had been strangely silent the whole time. He walked over to him to see what was going on in his troubled mind.

"Hey, Ace. You've been pretty quiet, lately. Especially through that whole thing…"

"Oh, Okura-sama. I'm just…thinking," he replied, pulling his beanie over his eyes.

"Thinking? About what?"

"…How I could…never mind. Knowing you, I know you wouldn't like hearing it…"

_I'm kind of glad about that,_ Kuno thought, looking at Ace with a confused expression. _It has something to do with luck, but I'm fine not knowing._

Kuno looked back over towards the rest of the students. Most of them had already left, but a few were still there. Besides Kuno and an Ace who was deep in thought, Eiko, Ryota, Paige, Akira, Elena, and Ryunosuke were still there. He hadn't talked to Ryunosuke in a while, so he decided to walk up to him and see what his deal was.

"Hi, Ryunosuke," Kuno greeted him, trying to sound as formal as possible.

"…Hey," he responded shyly, blushing a bit. "That was quite an announcement, wasn't it…"

"Considering how a lot of people have found some sort of counterpart, I'm worried about how this will turn out," Kuno replied honestly.

"I'm just worried about Sugita…I've known her for so long. I really hope that nothing happens to that girl. She does a lot of things without thinking, y'know…"

Kuno nodded in agreement. "You should go see where she is, then. You should keep an eye on her."

Ryunosuke flashed a smile at him. "You're right. I better go. See you around…hopefully." Ryunosuke walked out quickly, hoping to find out where Sugita had gone.

Kuno then felt a slight tap on his shoulder. He turned around, hoping it wasn't Ace, and fortunately, those suspicions were correct.

It was Paige, who was fiddling with her red glasses. "Hello, Paige," Kuno said to the shy historian. "Are you alright?"

"I-I'm fine," she stuttered as a response. "I j-just wondered if you would like t-t-t-to…accompany m-m-me to get f-food…"

"Of course I would. I'm kind of starving," Kuno replied. Out of nowhere, Elena popped up in front of the pair.

"Mind if I come with ya, you little sweethearts?" she asked, hope gleaming in her eyes. Kuno nodded, which made her squeal with glee. "You guys are my two favorites, y'know!"

"I guess if it's a party, I'll come, too!" Eiko said joyfully, walking up to the group. "All I really need is food."

"Hey, Ryota! Wanna come with us?" Elena asked, thinking that he was still in the room. Unfortunately, he had already left. "Aw. Poor lil' bub, that guy is." She turned over to Akira. "How about you, Akira? Wanna come with us?"

Akira let off a slight laugh. "I'd never go anywhere with _you _losers. I'm ashamed that you'd even think that. If anyone wants to bother me, I'll be in my room." With a 'hmph', she walked out of the ballroom.

Kuno, Paige, Elena, and Eiko walked over to the kitchen together, comfortably talking to each other about what was happening while they ate. Paige, however, grabbed her food and stood up. "I'm g-g-going to the library. I'll s-see you guys later." With a gleaming expression, she scurried out of the kitchen.

"Oh…I just noticed that we left Ace in there all alone…" Eiko said worriedly, putting down her food. "What if he does something nuts?"

"He was acting weird in there. Weirder than usual," Kuno pointed out, starting to get nervous.

"Do you think that he'd…" Eiko paused in the middle of her sentence. "No, I know he wouldn't…not even for you, Kuno."

"What do you mean 'not even for me'?"

"Oh, please, sweetheart!" Elena butted in. "Everyone knows that he's completely obsessed with you. If he does kill anyone, it'd definitely be to let you leave with him."

Kuno blushed, looking down at the ground. "Well, I don't know about that, but…"

"Aaaanyways," Eiko said, trying to end the awkward conversation, "do you really think anyone would actually kill someone? I mean, we're all friends here. With the exception of a few people, we're all pretty friendly to each other."

"But don't you see how they all usually hang in groups of two? Even though I don't wanna think it, the chances are pretty high," Elena said sadly, her hope deflating.

The group of three sat in the kitchen for quite a while, comforting each other and talking about how likely or unlikely a death was. They're conversation was interrupted when…

_*CRASH*_

A huge banging sound ran throughout the room. Kuno stood up from his chair. "What was that?"

Eiko stood up along with him. "You don't think…"

"No, it can't be…but we still have to see what that was. Follow me, guys." Kuno, Eiko, and Elena quickly walked out of the kitchen and started searching the halls for anything that could've made that noise.

Kuno looked down towards the hall that contained all of the rooms. It was completely empty, but something felt off to him. He glanced back towards Eiko, who was anxiously pacing back and forth between the halls. "Did you find anything, Eiko?" he called.

Eiko paused in her tracks. "N-No. I don't think so, at least. I don't know if Elena found anything, either…"

"You're right, I found absolutely nothin'!" Elena exclaimed angrily. "We should just go back to the kitchen. It was probably Monokuma messing with our heads or something like that."

With that, they headed back to the kitchen. Kuno couldn't help but feel like something wasn't right. _Was that noise…someone being killed? Or was it Monokuma, like Elena said? Whatever it was, it's rather odd. _

The three students sat in the kitchen, not exchanging any words to each other. They just sat there quietly, occasionally looking back at the door to see if anyone walked in.

* * *

_I haaaaaave to tell him. No, I NEED to. If I don't, then what's gonna happen? He has to know what I did. More specifically, what happened before. He has to have an answer. Some reasonable explanation. If I don't, then someone could get hurt. Heck, someone could be murdered-_

_*CRASH*_

_Oh, not now!_

* * *

Kuno, Elena, and Eiko stayed at the kitchen for the remainder of the day. They eventually began talking to each other again, but it wasn't about the probability of murder.

"What did you even do with that knife?" Kuno asked Eiko.

"The knife? I kept that thing in my room for safe keeping. Just no one gets any ideas."

"That doesn't make it any less dangerous than it was, sweetheart," Elena pointed out. "It's still a huge-ass knife."

"Yeah, well…I'd never kill anyone. You guys know that!" Eiko said rather defensively.

"We never said that you would, Eiko," Kuno assured her. "But a knife is still a knife."

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of a door opening. It creaked loudly as it did so. And into the kitchen came…

"Ace? What are you doing?" Kuno asked, looking strangely at the gambler. His beanie was pulled over his eyes, similar to the way it was that morning after the announcement was made. He looked uncomfortable and almost shaky. Kuno started feeling worried, knowing that this wasn't the Ace he knew. "Ace? Are you…okay?"

"What's wrong?!" Eiko asked, her voice cracking.

Ace slowly spoke up. "Their luck…ran out…"

Elena looked up at him like he was even more insane. "Luck ran out? What the hell does that mean?!"

Ace pulled the beanie over his face even further, making it look like a ski mask. Through the beanie, his muffled words struck like lightning. "They…died…"

Kuno's stomach started twisting into knots as the air escaped from his lungs. _No, there's no way…Ace is just pulling our legs. That sounds like something he'd do…right?_

Like she was reading his mind, Elena started firing back at Ace. "Don't lie to us, bub! You're lying, aren't you! No one would ever kill anyone here, and we already know that! Kindly get lost!"

Eiko pulled Elena back from attacking Ace. "Elena, please don't do this! We should at least check it out! He might now be lying…right, Kuno?"

"I don't know. We should just…look, I guess." Kuno nodded towards Ace. "Where did you find the body?"

Ace started shuffling his feet on the ground, not being able to stand still. "Follow me…" He trudged out of the kitchen, followed by the other three, who were still puzzled on whether or not it was all a joke.

They walked out of the kitchen and into the hall, passing all of the rooms where the students resided. Once they got to the room where Ace claimed to see the body, Kuno had a sinking feeling in his stomach, feeling like he knew exactly what was going to happen.

The room was a complete and utter mess. Everything was broken and shattered all over the floor. Bloody footprints where scattered all around the room.

"Ace…where did you see it?" Kuno asked nervously.

Ace pointed to a certain area in the back of the room. Holding his breath, Kuno walked over to the back. He shut his eyes tightly as he walked over. Once he opened them, the sight he saw in front of him made him nearly collapse.

*bzzzzzt*

"Ding dong dang dong! A body has been discovered! Following a brief period of investigation, we will commence our school trial!"

The monitor flickered off, leaving the room stunned in silence. Eiko and Elena ran over to the scene.

"Ku…huh…no…not…" Elena stuttered stepping backwards from the body.

"Oh my god…" Eiko muttered with panic. "I…I'll go get the others!"

Eiko ran out, leaving Kuno, Elena, and Ace alone with the corpse of the Super High School Level Historian, Paige Sato.

* * *

**NEW POLL IS ON MY PROFILE!**


	9. Operation Investigation

It seemed like a dream. Not a dream, more like a nightmare.

In front of Kuno was the body of Paige Sato, the Super High School Level Historian. A rather large knife protruded from her stomach. She lay in a pool of her own blood, some of it going down her lips. Her glasses were cracked and on the ground, showing her now closed eyes.

A few moments after, all of the students stood in the library, gazing at the body in awe and terror.

Lots of confused murmuring happened around the room.

"Paige…not Paige…"

"How could somebody do this?"

"Is she really dead? Is she faking it?"

"No, it's real. The body discovery announcement just happened…"

Out of the blue, everyone's favorite black and white phenom popped up. "Hellllloooo, students! I'm so excited! A death has finally happened!"

"E-Excited?! One of our friends just _died_, you sick bastard!" Eiko growled at him, balling up her fists. "How is this exciting to you?!"

"It's exciting because there's gonna be a class trial! Don't worry, I'll give you guys some time to investigate so you're not all clueless and stuff! To help you with your investigation, I've created a little file for you guys!" Monokuma pulled out a bunch of files from behind him. "Behold! The Monokuma File one!" He started handing them out to all of the bewildered students. "This file just gives you the basics of the murder! Not too much info, because that would be cheating! I'll call you guys when it's time for the trial! See ya around! Upupupu!"

Monokuma disappeared, leaving the students looking down at the files. Kuno hesitantly looked at it to see what information it stored.

_Victim: Paige Sato_

_The time of death was around 9:00 AM._

_The body was found in the school library._

_The victim was killed inside of the school library,_

_Cause of death is a wound to the stomach area made by a sharp object._

_Other than that, there are traces of several bruises along her legs and arms._

**Truth Bullet Loaded: Monokuma File 1**

"This…this doesn't help much at all," Eiko muttered, staring down the file.

"Well, we should start investigating. It's the only thing we _can _do," Kuno announced to the group.

"WHAT?! No, I'm not touching any dead bodies!" Masahide exclaimed, jumping backwards. "I can't even look at it without wanting to faint!"

"I, for one…find it rather…fascinating," Haniji said, getting up close to the body. She inspected it with her eyes, looking up and down and around the carcus. "Oh…what's this?"

Kuno walked over to Haniji. "What did you find? Anything interesting?"

Haniji ripped out the knife from Paige's stomach, which made Kuno wince a little. "This knife…isn't this…_Eiko's knife_?"

Everyone turned to Eiko, who just stared at the knife in confusion. "W-What? There's no way…I didn't-"

"Save it, bitch! You killed Paige, didn't you!" Akira yelled at the veterinarian, starting to approach her.

"N-No! I swear! I wasn't in the library the whole day!"

"But it's _your _damn knife! You still had it with you when Monokuma gave it to you yesterday, so you're the only one!"

"I didn't! Really, I'm being honest! Just because it was my knife doesn't mean that I killed her! Someone must've…Ugh! I don't know! I'm just confused! But it wasn't me!"

**Truth Bullet Loaded: Eiko's Knife**

"Guys, please stop fighting," Kuno tried to encourage them. "We have no time for this. We have to start investigating."

Eiko, who was on the verge of tears, slowly nodded, and then everyone followed. Investigation was their only hope of finding who murdered Paige.

The problem was that there was a murderer standing in that room.

"I guess…I'll just…" Haniji bent over and inserted the knife back into Paige's stomach.

"Haniji! Why would you…that's disgusting!" Masahide shouted, covering his eyes with his hands.

"Wow…so many bruises…everywhere…" Haniji noticed, scanning the bloodied arms and legs of Paige. "I wonder how she got these…"

"Well, have you seen this room?! It looks like a tornado happened in here or somethin'!" Sugita shouted, looking around at the trashed library. "All of the bookshelves are knocked over and stuff! And this table…that's where Paige used to sit. She was always reading that one book about the history of the school, y'know. If she saw this, she'd be really pissed, I bet."

**Truth Bullet Loaded: State of the Library**

"But what does that have to do with her bruises?" Ryunosuke asked, his eyes directed towards Paige's battered body.

"I dunno, she probably tripped over something…or something like that. Or maybe the murderer whacked her with that chair!" Sugita pointed to the mess of wooden bars. "She always sat in that chair. Hmm…" She started staring off into space, seeming to be deep in thought.

_She looks like she'll be standing there for a while…But something about this room is really throwing me off. _Kuno looked down at the areas of the floor that weren't covered by broken bookshelves.

The floor was covered in bloody footprints. Most of them didn't follow any specific pattern. They were all facing different directions, but a few of them led out the door.

Kuno figured that he should follow them and see where they went, so that's what he did. He followed the footprints out of the library and into the hall, not looking where he was going. They made a sharp turn into a room, and when Kuno looked up, he felt the world crash down upon him.

He stood in _his own room_. The footprints went through the door and into his bathroom, but there were no footprints coming out of it. _How did they get in? _He thought. _The killer is trying to set me up, aren't they…but I don't know how they could've gotten in._

**Truth Bullet Loaded: Bloody Footprints**

Kuno walked into his bathroom. The usually clean bathroom was covered in blood, with a mixture of blood and water flooding out of his sink.

**Truth Bullet Loaded: Kuno's Bathroom**

_So the culprit must've ran here after they killed Paige and cleaned themselves off…but why did they choose _my _room? There's nothing particularly special about my room, right?_

Kuno, still puzzled, slowly walked out of his room, only to find Akira standing here.

"Did you find anything, Akir-"

"Save it, spy boy." She took a peek into Kuno's room. "What the hell happened here?"

"I don't know. It looks like the culprit must've washed off in my room or something."

"Or…_you _washed _yourself _off after killing Paige."

"Akira, please."

"I don't wanna hear it. Save it for the damn trial." Akira sashayed off and back into the library, leaving Kuno with his head in his hands.

_If anyone else sees this, they're going to think it's me…I can't let anyone else see this! _Kuno closed his door and made sure to lock it with his room key. Outside of his room, he found Eiko, standing by her room.

Eiko's door had been completely demolished, a giant whole right in the middle. "Eiko…what happened?" Kuno called to her. She turned around, her face red and puffy.

"They broke in, I guess…and they took that knife." She peeked through the hole. "My room looks fine, though. There's no mess like there was in the library. I'm just…why would someone do this?!"

"I have no clue…but how would someone be able to break through the door like that?"

Eiko let out a frustrated groan. "This door has always been flimsy." She ran her fingers across the wooden door. "Probably one strong kick or punch would to the trick, but even I've tried kicking it down, and it didn't budge…and they must've been pretty skinny to fit through that hole. I don't know if I would be…but it doesn't matter anyways, because I was in that kitchen the whole time with you guys! And why would I have the need to kick down my own door?"

**Truth Bullet Loaded: Eiko's Door**

**Truth Bullet Loaded: Eiko's Account**

"You should go back to the library and go talk to some other people, Kuno. They probably know more than I do…" Eiko started walking back to the library. Kuno soon followed, seeking out the accounts of other people during the incident.

Kuno first walked up to Haniji, who was covered in blood from inspecting the body so thoroughly. "Haniji. Did you find anything else about Paige?"

Haniji shook her head. "Nothing…interesting…most of her bruises are located on her legs…and the only fatal wound was the knife wound…That's the only place where the blood came from…"

_I still wonder how she acquired those bruises…speaking of which, it looks like Sugita is done thinking, I think I should go talk to her to see what she found._

**Truth Bullet Loaded: Haniji's Inspection**

"Hey, Sugita!" Kuno called to the volleyball player. She turned around immediately and waved for Kuno to come over. "What is it? Did you find anything?"

Her face lit up. "Yeah, I did something useful! Anyways, I totally know where those bruises came from!"

"Oh? Wouldn't it be hard to find that out, though? You can't tell how someone got a bruise just by looking at it."

"Yeah, but I've seen those bruises before! As a volleyball player, I've seen a lot of injuries. Lots of bruises, y'know. There are those bruises that you get from falling, bruises from people hurting you, bruises from walking into the corner of a counter…Yeah, Paige's bruises were definitely those bruises you get from falling!"

"…How can you tell?"

"I've gotten many of those bruises in my day! You don't even have to fall long distances, it just has to be a really hard fall!"

**Truth Bullet Loaded: Sugita's Analysis**

Kuno noticed Ryota and Masaru in the back of the room, talking about something. They both seemed to be thoroughly engaged in it. Kuno thought about it for a minute, but he decided to walk up to them and see what they were discussing about.

"Did you guys find anything, or…" Kuno started, but Ryota was quick to interrupt.

"Are you trying to blame me?!" Ryota retaliated. "I didn't do anything! Just because I have a friend doesn't mean that I'd kill someone! Don't try to rat me out, Kuno!"

Masaru put a hand on his shoulder. "Ryota, calm down. This isn't like you…"

"I know that! It's just that everyone thinks that it's me! Even that kigurumi was dancing around me in circles and clapping its hands and shit! I'm sick of this!"

"Ryota, you know this isn't helping your case," Kuno reminded him. "This behavior only makes you look suspicious-"

"I didn't do anything! Hell, it was probably Ace! He has no alibi, right?!"

"Well neither do you…"

"Actually, we _both _have an alibi," Masaru quickly stated, sounding very defensive. "But I know you won't listen, since it's not that good of an alibi…"

"I'll listen to it, then. I don't care if it's good or not, as long as one of you isn't the culprit."

"Okay, then. Ryota and I were in the cafeteria the whole time. That's…about it." Masaru sighed heavily. "See, I told you it wasn't good, but it was the full truth. I swear."

**Truth Bullet Loaded: Masaru's Account**

_I'm positive that I would've heard anyone going into the cafeteria. Or even anyone talking there. Something seems off…But speaking of Ace, I better go talk to him._

Kuno walked over to Ace, who was wandering around the room, looking at the bloody footprints. "Ace, do you mind if I talk to you for a second?" Kuno pleaded, hoping that he wouldn't be acting difficult.

"Oh Okura-sama, you're the only one here that I'd actually respond to. I'm glad you asked, because I was lucky enough to find some valuable information."

"That's good. So, I'm sure you've been asked a lot, but where were you around nine o'clock?"

"I was in my room. Then I heard that crashing, so I came to where the source was. I was planning to scold whoever disturbed me while I was sleeping peacefully in my room, but it only happened to be that poor trash…"

"I see. So what was so valuable about that?"

"You didn't let me finish, Okura-sama…Anyways, I'm pretty sure I saw someone in the library, but I couldn't see who it was. The lighting in here is awful…I heard a door close from the distance as well, but it wasn't the door to the library. I kind of just stood there for a while, looking at the dead body. But I swear, one of our trashy classmates was in there with me…Is that enough, Okura-sama?"

Kuno nodded in approval. "Thanks for complying, Ace. What you said should help with the case."

**Truth Bullet Loaded: Ace's Account**

**Truth Bullet Loaded: Unknown Character in Library**

**Truth Bullet Loaded: Closing Doors**

Kuno then decided to go over to Daichi, who seemed to be upset about the whole ordeal. Strangely, Kiyoshi wasn't standing with him. "Daichi, may I speak with you?"

"…Yes. Of course." Daichi wiped his eyes, which were red and glassy.

"Are you okay? Your eyes are…"

"I'm aware. I happened to be the victim of a pepper spray incident."

"Pepper spray? I assume this has to do with the culprit in some way…"

"If you're saying that Monokuma is the culprit, then you're correct. When he popped up in front of me, I started questioning him about the motive, but then he pulled out some pepper spray and…" He pointed to his eyes. "_This _happened."

**Truth Bullet Loaded: Daichi's Account**

Interesting. Thank you for your time, Daichi."

Daichi nodded, ending the conversation. Kuno then made his way over to Masahide, who was acting strangely suspicious around the body. "Masahide!" he called. The ping pong master abruptly turned to him, his eyes wide with alarm. "May I speak with you, please?"

Masahide waddled over to Kuno. "Y-Yes…?"

"I'd like to know what you were doing around nine o'clock. Around the time of Paige's death."

"I was just walking around. Really, that's it. I saw some people, though. I could hear people talking from the kitchen, I saw Ryota and Masaru walking around, I saw Daichi with Monokuma in the halls, I saw Natsumi walking around, she was glaring at me and stuff, and…that's it. I'm not suspicious! Bye!" Masahide ran out of the library.

_That was certainly…strange…_

**Truth Bullet Loaded: Masahide's Account**

_But I still have some people I need to talk to. I should get the easy ones out of the way…so that means I have to talk to Ryunosuke now._

Unfortunately for Kuno, however, Ryunosuke was nowhere to be seen. Kuno figured he walked off while he was investigating his own room, so the next person he had to talk to was Natsumi.

"Excuse me, Natsumi, can I ask you a question?"

Natsumi, who had been unsettlingly quiet, looked up from investigating the body on her own. She sighed heavily as she walked over to Kuno. "Is there are reason why you called me over?"

"I just want to know what you were doing around nine o'clock. Just to see if you have an alibi or something."

Natsumi chuckled. "If you think you're getting anything out of me, _you're dead wrong_."

Kuno let out a sigh, fed up with her attitude. "Look, Natsumi-"

"You know, Kuno, we're not that different from each other. We have things in common, you know."

"Can't you just tell me what you found?"

"…I don't wish to speak with you any longer." Natsumi walked back to the body, continuing her investigation.

_Jeez, that was tough…I think we can rule out Pyonpyon-King. They probably haven't found anything at all. I should probably go try to find Kiyoshi somewhere._

But before Kuno could try to do anything…

*bzzzzzt*

"Okay! Time's up! Will all students please report to the gym? Thank you!"

"Okay, everyone. We should all get going," Kuno directed the students that remained in the library.

"But…what about Paige?" Sugita asked, sadly looking down at her body.

"I'm sure they'll take care of this mess. We should go," Natsumi said, quickly walking out of the library. Everyone followed, except for Sugita, who was stuck staring at the body.

Kuno stopped and turned around to her. He could see that there were tears starting to form in her dark violet eyes. "Sugita…"

"This can't be real…she's not dead, right?"

"Unfortunately, she is. Sugita, we really need to get going."

"…I'm never losing hope." Sugita walked out slowly, Kuno following after.

All of the students arrived at the gym, Kuno getting there last. He looked at all of the pairs of people around the room. He had a sinking feeling as he watched all of them converse. Even though he was a part of one of these said 'pairs', he somehow had the strangest feeling that Ace _wasn't _the culprit. But one of his friends had to be the culprit…and he had a suspicion on who it was.

"Upupu! Guess who's back, bastards!" Monokuma popped up on the platform he had stood on back on the first day. "It's almost time for the trial! Now, if you would all step back a little so you don't fall and die…"

_Fall and die? _Kuno wondered. Just after he thought that, the floor in front of him opened up slowly, making loud rumbling noises. Out of the dark abyss emerged a huge elevator. _What the…_

"Okay, everyone! Now just mosey your little asses down to that elevator and hop on in! You'll be transported to the court room where the _real _action happens! I'll see you guys there!" Monokuma disappeared as it usually did.

The students slowly filed into the elevator, which was a lot less roomy than it looked. Kuno was squished into the small space up against a corner. Once everyone was in, the doors quickly shut, which startled a few students. The elevator started moving downwards, and it would eventually reach the trial room.

Someone there had killed Paige Sato to leave with someone else. Kuno didn't want to believe it, but someone he was squished in that elevator with had murdered someone. And the only way to find out was to hold a class trial.

It was now or never.

* * *

**I really want to add Naegi's trial song into here somewhere, but…  
Another thing: Can the creators of the characters send in executions for their character? Yes, it's required, and stupid little Sim forgot to put that on the form...  
THE POLL IS STILL OPEN!****  
Anyways, all of the trials will be in a format similar to that of the game. Putting 'he/she/they said' after every single line of dialogue would just be really tiring and would get really old. Happy despairing!**


	10. Trial of Deception: Part 1

**Before we get started, there are some things I need to address…  
1\. The creators of Masahide, Pyonpyon-King, and Akira – I still need your executions!  
2\. Yes, I am aware that there are quite a few typos here and there, the most frequent one being 'murderer' changed to 'murdered'. Well, relying on Microsoft Word 2010 wasn't a very good decision of mine, was it…  
3\. If you have any ideas or concerns for your character, just PM me!  
4\. Happy despairing!**

* * *

Monokuma: Now, allow me to begin with a short explanation of the class trial! *ahem* You students will use your time during the trial to try and figure out who the culprit is! Once you guys get a clear idea, you will cast your vote for who you think did it! If you vote correctly, the blackened will be punished! However, if you pick the wrong person, everyone except for the blackened _and one person of their choice _will be punished! Let's begin!

**TRIAL IN SESSION**

Kuno: Okay, so what should we start with?

Akira: Hold on just one second, spy boy!

Ryota: Are you kidding me?! It hasn't even been ten seconds and Akira's already making accusations…

Akira: Well you wouldn't know what I'm talking about unless you _listened_!

Kuno: *sigh* What would you like to share, Akira?

Akira: I already know who the killer is! That's what I'd like to damn share!

Masahide: You…already know?

Akira: Well, duh! It's really obvious! Are you guys blind or something?!

Masaru: I think it would be near impossible to start jumping to conclusions at this point, Akira. You should wait until we've actually discussed things, first.

Kuno: He's right. We should at least start a discussion before we try to find out who the killer is. You guys agree, right?

Akira: …The one time you guys would actually deem me 'useful'…fine, yap all you want. I'm not speaking until it comes up, you got that?!

Kuno: Yeah. Anyways, for the second time, what should we start with?

Masaru: I think we should start with the basic things. You know, such as the weapon used to murder Paige.

Sugita: Oh, I know! That's super easy! It was a sharp object! It said so in the Monokuma thing.

Haniji: And that sharp object…was a knife…

Kuno: It's pretty safe to assume so, since that's the thing that was sticking out of Paige's stomach.

Ryota: So we got that out of the way…now what? We can't just guess the killer based off of a single knife.

Akira: Oh yes we can!

Ryota: Here we go again…

Natsumi: Isn't it nearly impossible to choose a prime suspect only based off of the murder weapon? You must have some justification.

Akira: Didn't you hear me back at the library? That knife _belonged to Eiko_! She's the only one that could have access to it, so the killer has to be her!

Eiko: Akira, please! I told you before, it wasn't me!

Akira: But you made it clear that the knife was rightfully yours!

Daichi: But that doesn't necessarily mean that she was the one who killed Paige.

Akira: Fine! Unless someone here has concrete evidence, then I'll refuse to believe any word that comes out of your damn mouths!

Masahide: But…you acting up all of a sudden makes you look very suspicious…don't ya think?

Akira: …Huh?! Who are you to be accusing me all of a sudden?

Masahide: You're trying to put all of the blame on Eiko just because the weapon used for murder was her knife! Also, you're the only one trying to lead us in the wrong direction! Sounds like a killer to me, doesn't it?

Natsumi: I wouldn't be surprised if it was you, Akira. After this whole act, you're our clear target.

Elena: But if that bub _is _the real killer, then how did they manage to get the knife from Eiko?

Masahide: That's easy! Now, all of you listen to _me_!

* * *

**NONSTOP DEBATE**

Masahide: So the murder weapon was a knife…

Masahide: And that knife belonged to Eiko!

Ryota: Yes, we know! This is, like, the tenth time we've mentioned that!

Masahide: But the culprit isn't Eiko…

Masahide: Because someone managed to steal the knife from her!

Sugita: But how would they do that? Wasn't the knife in her room?

Masahide: Exactly! And the only way that the culprit, also known as _Akira_, would be able to successfully get into Eiko's room…

Masahide: Was to pick the lock with a hair pin!

Kuno: No, that's wrong!

* * *

Elena: That doesn't sound wrong. It sounds perfectly good in theory, Kuno.

Kuno: It may sound like it's the truth, but it's really not.

Kuno: You see, the killer didn't get into Eiko's room by simply picking the lock or something like that. There's no way that anyone would be able to tell.

Sugita: Then how _did _they get in?

Masahide: I don't know! Why don't you ask Akira! She's the one who did it, after all!

Natsumi: I think we should let Kuno finish what he was talking about…

Kuno: Thank you, Natsumi. Anyways, was anyone else out in the hallway during the investigation? If you were, you would've seen a large open hole in the middle of Eiko's door.

Eiko: That's right! Someone made a hole in my door to break in!

Ryunosuke: That sounds rather obvious, though. The easier way would've been to pick the lock. They wouldn't just leave a large and blatant hole in the middle of Eiko's door for no reason.

Kuno: Well it's too late now, since that's how it happened.

Elena: Okay, so we've got that the killer stole the knife from Eiko by kicking a whole in her door and then they killed paige with the knife!

Natsumi: And they probably used that specific knife in order to frame Eiko, but they made a terrible mistake of leaving a large open hole in her door.

Ryota: And yet, we still have no idea who the killer is.

Masaru: Ryota's right…for once. We're not gonna get anywhere if this is all we have.

Daichi: So what should we discuss now?

Natsumi: I think that there is some vital evidence that we still need to talk about.

Akira: And what would _that _be?

Natsumi: I'm talking about the library itself. The state it was in when we found it.

Ryunosuke: That's right. As I recall, the library was a complete mess when we found it. All of the bookshelves in the room were knocked down.

Sugita: And so were the tables and that chair that Paige used to sit on. Does this have anything to do with the murder?

Kuno: It probably _has _to do with it…

Masaru: It's not entirely clear how, though. The library being a wreck and Paige being murdered don't really connect.

Elena: Well, if she was killed anywhere, wouldn't it have to be in the library?

Natsumi: That's what the Monokuma file said, didn't it?

Daichi: Plus, if she was killed anywhere else, they would have to drag her there. That would leave a lot of bloody drag marks on the floor.

Eiko: And if they carried her there, they'd be drenched in Paige's blood.

Haniji: That would look like a pretty picture…

Masaru: …But something isn't adding up…

Kuno: Would you care to tell us, Masaru?

Masaru: Yeah. So in order to kill Paige, they would've had to go up close to her and stab her, am I right?

Elena: Unless we have any knife throwers here, then that seems like it could be the only way.

Ryota: What are you getting at?

Masaru: So if they had to get really close to her to kill her, wouldn't they be covered in her blood?

Ryota: You're right…

Eiko: So the killer would need to find some way to clean themselves off.

Sugita: But then how would they do that?

* * *

**NONSTOP DEBATE**

Sugita: So in order to not look all murderous and stuff…

Sugita: The killer washed themselves off!

Sugita: But how did they do that without being caught?

Eiko: They could've gone into my room after they made the hole…

Eiko: And used my room to clean up!

Ryota: They could've used water bottles from the kitchen…

Monokuma: I wouldn't allow that! That's already happened before!

Daichi: So if they didn't use Eiko's room…

Daichi: They must've used a room that was unlocked in the first place!

Kuno: Daichi, I agree with that!

* * *

Kuno: Unfortunately, I have a feeling I know what happened…

Natsumi: Would you care to tell us so we can move on?

Kuno: I just remembered…I forgot to close and lock my door this morning…

Akira: Kuno! Are you kidding me?! You're such a damn idiot! How could you forget to close and lock your door?

Kuno: I thought I would be late to the ballroom that morning, so I went out the door without thinking about it. Maybe if I had the chance, I would've gone back and closed it, but I was in the kitchen the whole morning.

Elena: Yeah, and I can prove that! Kuno and Eiko and I were in the kitchen the whole time! So that gets us off of the list, right?

Eiko: I believe so…so I can't be the killer!

Elena: So this leaves everyone else who doesn't have an alibi, right?

Kuno: I suppose. But before we move on to that, I have something I need to share.

Akira: If it's anything that doesn't make me look like the killer, then I'll listen.

Kuno: Don't worry, it doesn't. Anyways, did anyone else…no, I'm sure you all noticed.

Sugita: What are you talking about?

Kuno: If we go back to what Natsumi was saying about the state of the library earlier, than you'd know what we're talking about.

Sugita: Ugh…I'm not good with hints! Just tell me, please!

Natsumi: I'd guess that you were referring to the footprints, am I correct?

Masahide: Oh, yeah! There were a whole bunch of crazy and bloody footprints everywhere!

Ryota: But they weren't going in any specific direction.

Daichi: But I believe that Kuno was following the out of the library. Right? I saw you do so.

Kuno: Yeah, I was. The ones that weren't going in crazy directions went out of the library and into the nearest open room…which was mine. My bathroom was full of blood, and the sink was flooding as well.

Haniji: But…wouldn't it have been a lot easier…to use Eiko's room…?

Masaru: It would make more sense, since leaving evidence at two rooms would be stretching it.

Natsumi: The killer maybe knew the order of the rooms beforehand, so they must've used the unlocked door that was closest to the library.

Ryota: Either that or they started panicking and they tried opening all of the doors to see which one was open.

Natsumi: And Kuno's room is far closer to the library than Eiko's room.

Ryunosuke: …I think…I think I just figured something out.

Sugita: Will it help with finding the killer?

Akira. Hmph. It better be useful…

Rynosuke: If the killer _wasn't _panicking and trying to open any door that was closest to them…then they must have known the placement of the rooms.

Sugita: I…don't get it.

Ryunosuke: So if they already knew which room would be one of the closest to the library, then it could only be one person.

Sugita: So you've already figured it out?!

Natsumi: I have a feeling that I know who you're talking about as well.

Masahide: Can't you guys just be blunt about it?

Kuno: *thinking* _If they put it that way, then it can only be one person_!

* * *

**MAKE AN ACCUSATION**

**ACE GRAYSON**

* * *

Kuno: Ace, it can only be you!

Ace: …Huh?

Natsumi: There had to be a specific reason why he hasn't said anything during the whole trial…

Ace: Okura-sama…You think that _I _am the culprit?

Kuno: …You're the only person I can think of.

Ace: Then would you care to elaborate on that?

Masahide: Yeah, I would like to have a say in this! You're the only person in here who would even think of killing anyone! Besides, you _hated _Paige!

Ace: That doesn't mean anything. I hate everyone that isn't Okura-sama.

Kuno: But it's more than that. As I recall, Ace, you were the only one who memorized the location of all of the rooms.

Ace: …I didn't think you would remember…

Kuno: Well, you did blatantly state it on the first day.

**FLASHBACK**

"_That's right. Did everyone receive a room key?" Daichi asked the students. Everyone nodded in approval. "Good. Now, I think we should discuss what we found." He turned to Kuno and Ace. "Let's start with the late ones, since it was probably important for them to take so long."_

_Kuno sighed heavily at the last remark. "Okay. We were in the corridor with everyone's rooms. Each room had a picture of the owner near it to show whose it was. Nothing seemed to be too out of the ordinary, besides the security cameras everywhere. I think that's about it."_

"_Yes, that's right," Ace butted in. __**"I've memorized the location of everyone's rooms as well. Just in case I needed that extra information."**_

"_Then why the hell did you take so long?" Akira asked harshly._

"_I mean…" Haniji started. "Did you see how…they were holding hands…? My guess is that…they were…"_

**FLASHBACK END**

Masahide: Oh, yeah! I remember that now! It was the first hint about how gay you guys were!

Ace: …

Kuno: …That's not the point! Anyways, I remember that you specifically said that you memorized the location of everyone's rooms.

Natsumi: You also said, 'Just in case _I _need that extra information'. So were you planning to kill someone all along?

Ace: …Okura-sama. You know I didn't do it, right?

Akira: But all of the damn evidence points to you! Who else could it be?!

Masaru: We can't assume that it was Ace just yet, though. There are still things we need to cover.

Elena: Still? But it's clearly Ace!

Eiko: I also remember how strangely you acted when you went into the kitchen to tell us that you 'found a body'. In reality, you were just trying to get the announcement to sound.

Masaru: But just because he knew where the rooms were doesn't mean that he killed Paige.

* * *

**NONSTOP DEBATE**

Masaru: Sure, Ace knew which rooms were closest to the library…

Masaru: But that doesn't mean that he was the culprit!

Elena: But all of the evidence points to him!

Eiko: Ace has no alibi as well. And in order for the body announcement to sound…

Eiko: Three people have to see the body.

Eiko: And since Ace was the only one in the library at that time…

Kuno: No, that's wrong!

* * *

Ace: I don't lie, you trashy bastards. I never tell lies. If I tell Okura-sama something, it means that it's the truth…

Kuno: If Ace wasn't lying, then what he told me _was_ the truth.

Natsumi: Then what did he tell you?

Ace: When I heard the crashing sound, I went to the library. My room is right across from Okura-sama's, so I would've heard the noise just as clearly. So after a few seconds of contemplating whether or not it was worth my time, I went to the library to see what it was. But it was only the body of that trashwad. I also saw the figure of someone else in the library, but since the lighting is so poor, I couldn't tell who it was. I guess when I left, they ran out…

Kuno: You also mentioned something about hearing doors close, right?

Ace: Yes, in fact, I did. I never closed the door to the library when I went in, but I heard the noise of somebody closing a door. I made sure to close it on the way out, though. But I was in the library for quite some time, just looking at that trash.

Natsumi: So that noise must have been the culprit entering Kuno's room and bathroom.

Eiko: Then who would the person in the library be?

Ryota: For all we know, Ace was probably hallucinating.

Ace: I don't lie about what I see…

Elena: Ooooh, I understand now! So the killer saw the body, then that bub in the library, then Ace?

Masaru: But that doesn't make sense! That's three people, so wouldn't the announcement go off then?

Monokuma: Finally, I get to say something! I forgot to mention that the culprit doesn't count as someone who sees the body! So that means that Kuno was the one who triggered the announcement!

Eiko: So Ace came to get us to make the announcement go off…I feel bad for accusing him now. Sorry about that, Ace.

Ace: …

Ryota: So…what else is there to discuss?

Kuno: I'm not sure…is there anything else about the body that we haven't covered?

Sugita: Oh, yes! Don't you remember the bruises all over her body?

Kuno: Oh yeah, she was covered in bruises.

Natsumi: I assume she got them from a struggle with the killer…fighting them back, I guess.

Sugita: YOU'VE GOT THAT WROOOOOOONG!

Ryota: Whoa! What the hell was that?!

Masahide: Has the true Sugita been unleashed?!

Natsumi: I'm not afraid to murder the 'true Sugita' myself…

Sugita: Don't say that! Anyways, you're wrong! She never fought with the killer!

Daichi: Then how did she receive bruises so severe?

Sugita: She fell, that's what! Those are clearly bruises you get from falling!

Natsumi: If she got bruises from falling, then what did she fall from?

Sugita: That…I don't know.

Masaru: But does Paige falling have anything to do with her death?

Kuno: Well, aside from her stab wound, those are the only injuries that she received.

Masahide: Maybe after everything fell over, Paige tripped over something and got a bruise! That's probably what went down.

_Pyonpyon-King suddenly began vigorously dancing and clapping its hands._

Akira: What now?! Does it have anything to say?

Ryota: It just keeps dancing…I have no idea what that means…

Monokuma: Oh, relax, you guys!

Ryota: Huh? What do _you _want?

Monokuma: I can _speak _the language of the kigurumis! I know what they're saying, and it's quite some vital information to the case! Upupupu!

Natsumi: Then can you translate for us, bear?

Monokuma: Oh, fine! *ahem* It's saying that if the destruction of the library had happened _before _Paige was killed, then the killer would have to try and catch her first, which would give Ace enough time to catch up to the scene! Then there'd be no point to this trial!

Monokuma: That's what it said! But I don't know if I'd believe it. Kigurumis are quite the shady characters! Upupupupupu-

Masaru: Okay, so it only makes sense that the destruction happened after Paige died. It would be hard to navigate through the library in near darkness with a lot of bookshelves knocked down.

Monokuma: HEY! I wasn't done talki-

Eiko: So she must've fallen a different way! I don't think that there's any other way to trip in the library…

Ryota: Unless the killer tripped her...or she could've just fallen out of her chair.

Masaru: She _was _a little clumsy, so that might've happened.

Natsumi: …I think…

Kuno: What? Did you figure something out?

Sugita: I just wanna find out who the killer is!

Natsumi: The motive…

Ryota: W-What?! What about that stupid motive?!

Akira: Why are you getting so defensive all of a sudden, huh?

Ryota: What does the motive have to do with this whole thing?

Natsumi: I think I've got it.

Masahide: Got what?! The killer?

Sugita: Wow! You've found the culprit already?!

Natsumi: Not necessarily. But I have some sort of theory. It could help clear some things up.

Daichi: If it has to do with who killed Paige, then go right ahead.

Natsumi: That motive. Having two people being able to leave instead of one…there's no reason not to believe that _the killer had an accomplice who helped them carry out the murder_.

Ryota: …Huh?! You're saying that there are _two _culprits?

Natsumi: No. I'm saying that the killer had assistance while murdering Paige.

Ryota: Th-then…what's your evidence for this?!

Natsumi: If there had been two people at the scene, then that explains a few things. The body discovery announcement, for example. It also explains the other person that Ace claimed to see in the library when he got there.

Masahide: So you're saying that one person just murder Paige…while the other one stood there and watched?

Natsumi: Like Ryota mentioned earlier, Paige could have been tripped, but she would have tripped over the killer's accomplice. Then the killer proceeded to make their move while Paige was down.

Akira: Is there a reason why that explanation is so descriptive? Maybe _you _were the one who had the accomplice. Hell, maybe you are that accomplice!

Kuno: Not everyone here has an alibi, so it could've been anyone.

Elena: Anyone that isn't me or Eiko or Kuno or Ace isn't cleared yet, right?

Kuno: Yes, but I believe we should listen to everyone else as well…

* * *

**NONSTOP DEBATE**

Eiko: Well, we already know that me, Kuno, Elena, and Ace have an alibi…,

Eiko: So will anyone else like to share where they were?

Natsumi: I guess I will. I was walking around the whole school before I heard the announcement.

Sugita: Oh, and Ryunosuke and I were in my room!

Haniji: I have the urge…to say something dirty…but now's not the time…

Daichi: As I said, I was being pepper sprayed by Monokuma near my room..

Masaru: And…I stayed in my room the whole time!

Kuno: No, that's wrong!

* * *

Kuno: Masaru, you're contradicting yourself.

Masaru: …Huh?

Kuno: During the investigation, you said that you and Ryota stayed in the cafeteria.

Masaru: I…did?

Ryota: Whoa, hold on a second! You're lying, Kuno!

Kuno: I'm pretty sure I'm telling the truth.

Ryota: There's no way you are! You can't just assume that Masaru was the killer!

Kuno: I never said that he was! But he was just lying about what he was doing, so I called him out for it. There's nothing wrong with what I'm doing.

Ryota: Hell yeah there is! Then how come you're the only one that's called him out?!

Kuno: Actually-

Ryota: Save it! I don't wanna hear it! You can't suspect him because you're the only one who ever claimed to see us!

Kuno: No, you're wrong!

Ryota: …Then…

Kuno: Someone else saw you and Masaru together, and it wasn't in the cafeteria. Isn't that right, Masahide?

Masahide: Huh? What happened?

Ryota: Don't say stupid things like that! Masahide hasn't even been paying attention this whole time, and you're telling me that he saw us in the hallway near the library?

Kuno: …I never said that you were in the hallway near the library.

Masaru: But…neither I nor Ryota killed Paige!

Natsumi: Actually, it sounds pretty solid that one of you _did _kill Paige.

Masaru: Please don't make me angry, guys…I can prove that we didn't kill her. I swear.

Ace: Funny how you say 'I swear' every time you tell a lie…

Masaru: Stay out of this, Ace! Anyways, if we were walking near the library, then we wouldn't have gone in. We never went in, in fact. We walked right past it.

Elena: And we would've heard if they went into the cafeteria, too.

Kuno: Masaru…are you telling the truth?

Masaru: I…absolutely. I wouldn't lie in a time like this.

Eiko: But we still have no idea who the killer is! We've gone nowhere!

Kuno: Well, what we know is that the killer broke into Eiko's room, stole her knife, and killed Paige with the help of their accomplice. Then somehow, the library got completely destroyed, which made that sound we all heard. The killer then panicked and ran to the nearest unlocked room, which happened to be mine. They cleaned themselves off, and then…what happened _after _they cleaned up?

Daichi: Wouldn't Ace have seen them after they had cleaned up?

Elena: It would be silly of them to have hid in Kuno's bathroom the whole time, so…

Sugita: Why is all of this so damn confusing?!

Akira: …Oh…That's it!

Kuno: What?! What happened, Akira?

Akira: I know who it is now! Really, I do! And nobody is gonna interrupt me this time.

Natsumi: You better be correct, Akira. You're on thin ice right now.

Akira: Yeah, yeah. How about we stop focusing on interrogating _me _and question the most suspicious one in the room?! The one who was hiding the whole freaking time!

Kuno: Most…suspicious?

Akira: Jeez, spy boy! You're really slow in the head, you know that?

Ryota: Stop stalling and tell us who you think it is!

Akira: Jesus, can't you just be patient for once?! I would tell you their damn name if I remembered it!


	11. Trial of Deception: Part 2

**Hey guys! ****WHAT I'M ABOUT TO SAY IS VERY IMPORTANT AND YOU CANNOT SKIP IT! ****Anyways, I have a new SYOC, which is based off of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Even if you've never seen this wonderful show or read any of the comics, I want **_**you **_**to submit a slayer! I don't care if you don't know what you're filling out, I just need slayers! You can skip the 'reaction to being a slayer' question on the form if you must. Happy despairing!  
By the way, this chapter took me a while for a reason. There were a whole bunch of weird alternate endings, but I'll save that story for the end of this chapter. **_**SUBMIT YOUR SLAYER OC NOOOOOWWWW!  
**_**(edit on 5/16/15: So sorry about the major delay! I can't be on **_**all **_**of the time. This time, my life really got in the way. I'll spare you the pain of telling you what happened, but I'm just letting you know that when school is over, I'll be updating a lot more. Happy despairing!)**

* * *

Akira: I would tell you their damn name if I remembered it!

Kuno: *thinking* _I think I know where Akira's going with this…I don't want to think it, but _they _can be the only one…_

Masahide: How do you forget someone's name?! And what do you mean 'most suspicious'? Everyone here has had something to say!

Kuno: All…except one. With the exception of Pyonpyon-King, of course.

* * *

**MAKE AN ACCUSATION**

**KIYOSHI NAKASHIMA**

* * *

Kuno: Kiyoshi! You're the only one I can think of!

Daichi: W-What?! Kiyoshi didn't do anything!

Kiyoshi: …

Akira: _That's _what I'm talking about. He's really suspicious, don't you think?

Daichi: No, he's NOT suspicious in any way or shape or form! Just because he doesn't like talking to you fools doesn't mean that he's a coldblooded killer!

Kuno: Actually, if you plug him into this equation, it sounds accurate.

Daichi: THEN TELL ME THIS GODDAMN EQUATION!

Eiko: Daichi, do-

Daichi: DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO, BITCH!

Kuno: …As I was saying, it would make perfect sense if Kiyoshi was the culprit.

Daichi: THERE'S NO EVIDENCE OF THIS!

Ace: Let Okura-sama talk, you insignificant bastard.

Kuno: Take how the culprit acquired the knife, for example.

Daichi: THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH KIYOSHI!

Kuno: You see, Eiko claimed that she wasn't strong enough to make that hole herself, but one good kick or punch would do the trick. And with Kiyoshi being the SHSL Boxer, there's no reason not to believe that he could have easily made that hole.

Eiko: Plus, he's definitely small and skinny enough to fit through that hole.

Sugita: And he's pretty quick, so he could easily get to Kuno's room in time before Ace came around!

Daichi: Ngh…No, Kiyoshi didn't do it! I refuse to believe that!

Natsumi: It sounds like it's too late. I think we have our culprit.

Elena: But…why would he do something like this? It's just wrong!

Masaru: I'd assume it was because of the motive.

Daichi: …!

Ryota: So you did that so you could leave with Daichi? That makes sense…except for the killing part!

Kiyoshi: …I know…

Natsumi: Are you confessing now?

Masahide: Wait!-

Daichi: K-Kiyoshi…would never…

Eiko: But there are still things we need to cover! We can't just choose a killer…not right now…

Haniji: It's clearly…Kiyoshi, though…

Daichi: YOU CAN'T JUST SAY THAT!

Haniji: Watch…me…

Daichi: I SWEAR TO GOD!

Eiko: Guys, please stop fighting! It's just making things even worse!

Natsumi: Eiko's right. The more you guys act like nuisances, the longer this trial is.

Sugita: Can't we just vote for Kiyoshi now?

Ryota: I second that. He's the clear killer.

Daichi: I…Did…

Kuno: But there are still some things we have to cover. I think we should ask Kiyoshi what his role in the murder was.

Masaru: Well, Kiyoshi? Do you have some sort of alibi?

Kiyoshi: …

Akira: See what I mean?! That loser doesn't even know how to talk!

Daichi: !

Ryota: Now what's _his _deal?

Daichi: !?

Natsumi: Never mind that. Anyways, Kiyoshi. Do you have anything in particular to say?

Kiyoshi: …Nope.

Natsumi: Were you the one who kicked a whole in Eiko's door and stole the knife?

Kiyoshi: …

Natsumi: Were you the one who stabbed her right in the stomach just so you could leave with your boyfriend over there?

Daichi: SHUT UP!

Kiyoshi: …

Natsumi: But there's one thing I don't understand.

Kuno: Hmm….What is it, Natsumi?

Natsumi: Who exactly did Kiyoshi work with? To carry out the murder, I mean.

Sugita: Wouldn't the only plausible person be Daichi?!

Ryota: That's the only person I can imagine who could work with Kiyoshi on this one.

Kuno: Daichi? Did you help him with the murder?

Daichi: …N-No…

Akira: Stop lying to us, asshole! You and Kiyoshi totally worked together with this murder. Admit it!

Daichi: But I couldn't have. That would be impossible.

Natsumi: Care to explain _why _that is impossible?

Daichi: Gladly. Remember what I told you, Kuno? The pepper spray thing that happened…

Elena: Pepper spray?! That's rather unsafe, ain't it?

Kuno: Yes, in fact, I do.

Sugita: But what about pepper spray?

Daichi: I was sprayed in my eyes with that stuff. I was completely blinded and in pain for a few minutes.

Kuno: And where did that happen?

Daichi: In my room. I called Monokuma over there, and he pepper sprayed me. I went out of my room to try and walk it off, but it didn't go away for quite some time.

Sugita: But why would he just waltz up to you and spray you in the face for no apparent reason?

Daichi: Perhaps I questioned him about too many things. Things he didn't want to answer.

Kuno: Masahide. You said you saw Daichi standing outside of his room with Monokuma, correct?

Masahide: Oh…

Kuno: …I'll take that as a yes.

Eiko: But was it before or after the crash?

Daichi: After. I heard it as well from my room, but I thought nothing of it.

Ace: And I didn't make my appearance until about five minutes after the crash…

Masaru: Which would give the killer enough time to clean off and then hide. I see.

Akira: So who _was _loser's partner in crime?

Eiko: And where did he go after he killed Paige?

Kuno: Well, they weren't still in my room.

Elena: And they weren't in the hallway, either! I remember that Kuno and Eiko were in there for a few seconds, just looking down the hall, and then we went back to the kitchen.

Natsumi: The killer was probably washing off at that time while he wouldn't be seen.

Kuno: And then Ace went into the library and saw the body. The sounds of the closing doors must have been the killer exiting my room, retreating to their hiding place.

Masaru: Yet their accomplice was still in the library…

Kuno: And while Ace was standing there in shock, Daichi exited his room, accompanied by Monokuma, who had just pepper sprayed him. Masahide then walked by and saw him…Did you hear the crash, Masahide?

Masahide: N-No…I was at th-the other end of the s-s-school…But once I g-got around to th-that hallway, I could hear M-Monokuma and D-D-Daichi…

Akira: And now why are you stuttering?! You know something or whatever?

Masahide: …

Daichi: After that, I realized that it would be hard to navigate around the school, so I went back into my room…and then that announcement happened.

Sugita: It's pretty amazing how that happened in such a short span of time, don't ya think?

Eiko: Then when did the killer manage to steal the knife from me?

Kuno: That must have been while we were in the kitchen.

Elena: It sounds like the killer and their killing buddy were planning it…We were in the kitchen for quite a while, but the time of Paige's death didn't occur until nine.

Sugita: So they planned it, too? The whole shebang?

Kuno: It sounds as if that's the case.

Akira: But no one answered my damn question! Who was the accomplice?!

Daichi: That's not the only thing! We still don't know who the real killer is! And it sure as hell isn't Kiyoshi, I'll tell you that much!

Natsumi: This is utterly puzzling…

Masahide: C-Can I…say something?

Akira: Nothing that's come out of your mouth so far has been relevant, so I disapprove.

Natsumi: Well you're not the one running things around here, so you have no right to boss any of us around.

Akira: Then what the hell am I supposed to do?! Let that bear make all of the decisions?!

Monokuma: Well if you all don't finish up soon, it'll be _my _decision to throw you all in a shredder!

Sugita: That's just unreasonable!

Daichi: _Can you guys just cut it with the damn bear and get back to the trial?!_

Monokuma: I have a name, you know!

Kuno: Guys, we have to wrap this up somehow.

Ryota: Well, we already know who the killer is-

Masaru: Not necessarily. We still need to find out a few more things. For example, where did the killer hide after they ran out of the library?

Akira: Got an answer for _that_, guy-I-forgot-the-name-of?

Kiyoshi: …Hid?

Ace: Does this bastard not remember what he did?

Kiyoshi: I was…um…

Masaru: I'm starting to get confused as well…

Akira: Just fess up and tell us, asshole!

Kiyoshi: Uh…mmph...

Ryota: Does he know how to form words?

Daichi: !

Masahide: Can I say something _now_?

Kuno: I think it's a good time for your input. Please, go right ahead.

Masahide: Okay, I'll tell you what I remember! I think it leads to something…

**FLASHBAAAAAACK**

_Masahide was walking down the hallway, being extremely cautious to be on the lookout for anyone else out and about. He rounded a corner that was next to the library, near where his room was. Suddenly, he started hearing the voices of people. One wasn't very recognizable, but the other was the most distinct voice he had ever heard. Masahide only heard little bits of the conversation, however, since he didn't want to get too close to the room it came from._

_The voices constantly went back and forth. "Upupupu! And just what do you want from me right now, my little student?"_

"_I need a favor from you, bear. It's really important."_

"_Sounds like a secret! I'm in!"_

_The voices then started whispering, which was inaudible to Masahide. The next thing that came was…_

"_OW, SHIT!"_

_Masahide hid behind the wall, hoping not to be seen. When he emerged, he saw a fellow student of his._

"_Gee, what happened?" Masahide asked._

"_This? Oh, it's nothing. That damn bear just pepper sprayed me, though. God, that burns," Daichi replied, rubbing his eyes. _

_Monokuma popped out of Daichi's room, holding a can of pepper spray. "This is what that hardass gets for having such a hard ass! Upupupupu!" As quickly as he appeared, Monokuma disappeared, leaving Daichi and Masahide in the hall._

"_Well, there's no way I'm walking this off. I'll be in my room if you need me." Daichi walked back into his room._

_Masahide shrugged it off and continued down the hall._

**FLASHBACK END**

Masahide: That's…what I remember. Does that help?

Sugita: I don't get it! This is all so confusing to me!

Natsumi: So you finally gave us some useful information, Masahide.

Masahide: That's good. I wouldn't want to be that one useless guy that's only for comic relief.

Kuno: So let me get this straight…Daichi…You asked for an 'important favor' from Monokuma, and then he just pepper sprayed you?

Daichi: …

Kuno: What was that favor?

Daichi: It was nothing important. I was just asking about the motive.

Masaru: But how is that a favor?

Daichi: It just _was_. That doesn't mean anything.

Natsumi: Or could it be that you asked Monokuma to pepper spray you? Or something of that effect?

Daichi: Asked to pepper spray me? That sounds ridiculous.

Kiyoshi: …

Kuno: But you could've asked him to do so…in order to create an alibi for yourself, I assume.

Daichi: What?! That's completely false! I wouldn't have been able to see where I was going, so there was no way I could have-

Natsumi: But you were pepper sprayed _after _Paige was murdered. You still could've done it before you were unable to see.

Daichi: …Are you accusing me? Accusing me of doing such a heinous crime? I don't believe this…

Sugita: But weren't we just accusing Kiyoshi a while ago?

Masaru: That's right. Kiyoshi hasn't been cleared yet, either.

Natsumi: Kiyoshi. Why were you hesitating to answer us before?

Kiyoshi: …

Akira: Speak up, you son of a bitch!

Kiyoshi: …

Sugita: So is it Daichi or Kiyoshi?! They're both equally suspicious!

Masahide: Could it be…they _both _killed her at the _same time_?

Natsumi: That's…I'm not going to even respond to that…

Masaru: Based on how this is going, one of those two is the killer, and the other one definitely helped.

Ryota: But how are we supposed to choose who did it? Do we make a lucky guess?

Eiko: That would be too risky. If we picked the wrong person, we'd be…well, whatever 'punished' means.

Ryunosuke: And we can assume that it's not a very good thing.

Daichi: But we didn't do anything! I was in my room!

Natsumi: That's not a very good alibi, Daichi.

Daichi: Well neither is yours, Miss Walking-Around-the-School!

Kuno: Even though I hate to admit it, Daichi's right. Just walking around the school isn't good enough.

Natsumi: Masahide was walking around the school as well, and you didn't go against a damn thing that he said, right? So you can't trust him, either.

Masahide: Hey, um, relax there! I totally saw you walking around. You gave me the death glare.

Sugita: So was it Daichi and Kiyoshi…or Masahide and Natsumi?

Natsumi: I would _never _work with such an idiotic, illiterate, braindead scoundrel such as Masahide. He's not fit to kill.

Masahide: She's right! I'm not fit for anything!

Masaru: Guys, we aren't getting anywhere. Kiyoshi and Daichi are the main suspects right now, right?

Kuno: Those two are the only ones who could have done it. From what we've gathered, at least.

Daichi: But Kiyoshi didn't-

Natsumi: No, he probably did. Please stop with the interrupting.

Daichi: …

Sugita: So do we just plug both of them in to the crime and see which one makes more sense?

Kiyoshi: But-

Akira: Save your breath, what's-your-face. No one wants to hear you yap right now.

Elena: Has anyone actually ever _heard _him talk?

Akira: He told me his name was garbage, but that's about it.

Ace: All of you are complete garbage…

Ryota: So are we gonna try and solve this or what?!

Kuno: Ryota's right. We should try and get this going. Let's start with Kiyoshi first.

Daichi: N-No…

Kuno: So let's start with where he got the weapon. It would make sense if Kiyoshi were to kick that hole in Eiko's door. Daichi couldn't have fit through that hole, but Kiyoshi could have easily slipped through.

Natsumi: But it doesn't necessarily mean that the killer got the knife himself. The person they were collaborating with could have gotten it for them.

Kuno: That's true. So that doesn't really clear anything up. Okay, so next the killer going to the library and killing Paige from there.

Masaru: And the other guy helped with attacking Paige so it would have been easier for the real killer to strike.

Eiko: So that could've been either one of them…this isn't getting anywhere! Either one of them could have done it! The probability is pretty much equal for those two!

Kuno: And then there was the crash…did both of them cause it? Or was it just one?

Masaru: It's quite impossible to tell, just based on how the library looked…

Sugita: And then after making the library such a mess, they ran out and left a bunch of bloody footprints on the floor!

Kuno: …That's it!

Akira: That's _what_?

Kuno: The killer was the only one who could have gotten so close to the body that they would be covered in Paige's blood, right?

Kuno: So the blood would've been on their shoes, causing the footprints…

Ryota: That's how footprints are made, genius.

Kuno: So in order to get a clear picture of who did it…um…does anyone here know how to tell the difference between the print of a boot and a sneaker?

_The room went completely silent. No one there was the Super High School Level Shoe Master, then. Until Sugita spoke up…_

Sugita: A bucket of paint!

Elena: Huh?!

Ryunosuke: Oh jeez, what are you up to…

Sugita: We'll have everyone step in a bucket of paint or something, and then we'll see which footprint matches the one in the library!

Akira: Where the hell are we gonna get a bucket of paint?!

Haniji: I need…to go…May I be excused from the trial…Monokuma?

Monokuma: E-Excused?! That's against the rule of the trial!

Natsumi: There _aren_'_t _any rules that prohibit anyone from leaving, bear. If there were, it would have been in our iD.

Haniji: So…can I go?

Monokuma: UUUUGGGGGHHHH! Fine, you have five minutes! If you don't come back by then, you'll be decapitated in front of everyone! GOT THAT?!

Haniji: Okay…

Monokuma: You're time starts NOW!

_Haniji started running off to the elevator, which had come back down from wherever it had been kept._

Masaru: Wait, I remember you saying that you couldn't find any art supplies anywhere!

Haniji: *while running* I…lied…

Monokuma: …Okay! For the next few minutes until that bastard comes back, no one is allowed to open their mouths! Not even to cough or some shit like that! Complete silence starts NOW!

_As Kuno sat there in silence, a lot of thoughts went through his head. 'Are Kiyoshi and Daichi even the killers? Did they have anything to do with it? Or is it someone that has kept a low profile this whole time, like Haniji or Ryunosuke or Pyonpyon-King? And after we find them out, what will happen to them? What will happen to us if we don't figure it out? _

'_We have to find out who murdered Paige, even if it's the last thing we do!'_


	12. Trial of Deception: Finale

**Hello there! Before you start reading and stuff, there are a few things I need to say:  
1\. Sorry about the delay! I've been so busy lately, but I'll get back to my regular schedule soon enough.  
2\. Submit a slayer to my SYOC!  
3\. I have a bunch of exams coming up, so you're now aware of why I haven't been updating as frequently as I was. Trust me, once exams are over, I'll get back to my regular updating schedule!**

**So are we gonna get this going or what?**

* * *

Monokuma: Jesus Christ! What's taking that bastard so long?! She has one minute to get her shit together!

_Everyone was too afraid to speak. They all had similar thoughts, however. Was Haniji actually getting a bucket of paint or something like that? Would the footprints really reveal who the killer was?_

Kuno: *thinking* _If the print was a distinct boot or sneaker, one that resembled Daichi or Kiyoshi's shoes, that would make it easier on all of us. But I have a sinking feeling that Haniji isn't going to make it in time…_

Monokuma: She has ten seconds! Time to start counting! Eight..seven…six…five…four…

_Just then, the elevator abruptly crashed down to the trial room. The doors were open in a flash. Out ran Haniji, who carried a bucket up to her chest._

Haniji: Did I…make it in time…?

Monokuma: Dammit! You had three seconds! I was _this _close to having some actual fun!

Kuno: So Haniji, what do you have there?

Haniji: This? It's…a bucket of paint…I tried to make the color…as close to the blood as possible…

Sugita: Great! Now we can figure out who the killer is! All you have to do is take off your shoe and dip it in the bucket-

Akira: Oh _hell _no!

Ryota: What is it this time?!

Akira: I have to ruin my shoe just so you guys can make even more dumb accusations?! You losers can count me out.

Natsumi: You realize that this only makes you more suspicious. Then we might just have to assume that those footprints are yours.

Masahide: 'Sides, you probably have a lot more pairs of shoes where that came from, right?

Akira: …I only brought these ones…

Masahide: Then wash it off when you're done! It's not rocket science.

Akira: …_I hate all of you_…

Natsumi: I've heard worse things.

Akira: Well, does anyone have any extra pairs of shoes or anything? After I have to ruin mine for no reason?

Haniji: Yes, in fact…I brought quite a lot of pairs…I can let you borrow one…if you want…

Ryota: Okay, can we stop with the whole shoe thing and move on?

Kuno: Ryota's right. We should keep going. So what are we going to do, Sugita?

Sugita: Awrighty! So you just dip one of your shoes in the paint, and then you just press it down on the ground! Don't put too much paint on it, though. Then we won't be able to tell.

_Sugita grabbed the bucket of paint away from Haniji and dragged it over to an open area in the trial room._

Sugita: Okay, everyone! Just come over here!

_Without hesitance, everyone walked over to the open area, took off their shoes, and lightly dipped one in paint. They placed each print in a line._

Eiko: How are we supposed to tell which print is which?

Sugita: Just write your initials by it with the paint. That's easy, right?

Ryunosuke: Well, I share my initials with Ryota, so I'll just write my name.

_Once all fifteen prints were in a line, they tried judging which one was the right print._

Eiko: Does anyone have a picture of the scene? Y'know, just so we know what print matches the prints in the library?

Monokuma: Oh, that? I'll just pull up the feed from the library! Upupupu!

_Kuno looked up towards Monokuma, which now had a projector behind him. The screen lit up with footage from the library. It was hard for him to look at the scene again, but what choice did he have? Just like they had at the real scene, the footprints were very blatant and noticeable. The print was a little strange, but it was in the line somewhere. Kuno went down the line, and then he found the print…_

Kuno: Guys! I found the correct print!

Sugita: Yes! My beautiful plan was successful!

Masaru: What are the initials next to it?

_Kuno looked down towards the initials, which immediately took him by surprise._

Kuno: This…this doesn't make any sense!

Daichi: So I assume it isn't mine…Or Kiyoshi's…

Kuno: Everything we've done…it just doesn't lead to them!

Akira: Then can you hurry the hell up and tell us the initials they used?

Kuno: The initials are…HT. Which could only mean one person…

* * *

**MAKE AN ACCUSATION**

**HANIJI TAHAME**

* * *

Kuno: That print is clearly the print of Haniji's shoes!

Masahide: *gasp* Haniji…? No, that's impossible!

Haniji: …Huh?!

Kuno: Take a look up at the screen. There are a lot of smudges here and there, but those prints clearly belong to Haniji's shoes. When you compare the print in here and the prints in the library, they are clearly identical.

Haniji: …

Masahide: W-Wait! You can't just…No! Haniji would never!

Ace: Starting to sound a lot like Daichi, are we?

Daichi: …And you guys were accusing Kiyoshi and me of committing that crime…

Eiko: But Haniji's so young! It's impossible! I just can't believe that she's capable of doing such a thing.

Natsumi: Then you better start believing. Nobody else could have left those prints in the library.

Masahide: B-But…That's the only thing you guys have against her! Just because there are a whole bunch of bloody footprints everywhere that match her shoes, it doesn't mean that she's the one who did it! 'Sides, who would her partner in crime even be?

Sugita: I'm guessing…you?

Masahide: But I've been cleared! I told you guys the truth about the whole Daichi situation, so can't you believe me now? There are still things that have happened that Haniji couldn't have done!

Kuno: Such as…?

Masahide: Well…uh…the door! And the knife and the stealing!

Eiko: Even though I don't want to think it, Haniji is certainly small and skinny enough to fit through that hole.

Masahide: Uhh…But she's not nearly strong enough to make that hole! If you couldn't, then Haniji wouldn't be able to at all!

Haniji: He's right…I'm weak…

Masahide: Yeah! Really weak! So it couldn't have been her…right?

Ryunosuke: But wouldn't she have to be working with someone? That someone could have done it for her.

Masahide: But…

Haniji: …

Akira: So are we done yet or what?

Kuno: Not quite yet.

Akira: It's clearly Haniji, though! Those are _her _footprints, she has _no _alibi, and she's the only person who would actually make sense!

Masahide: But…there's no one she could have worked with! Haniji doesn't work with people that well…unless it's me, but it can't be me because I wasn't even in the library!

Natsumi: Just because she isn't that good at working with people doesn't necessarily mean that she would never work with anyone else.

Sugita: So who did she work with? 'Cause I doubt she did it alone!

Haniji: I can't work with anyone…if I didn't do it…

Akira: But you did, so who was your accomplice?

Haniji: I said…I had nothing to do with it…bitch…

Akira: Well you had something to do with it, so stop with the whole tough-girl act and fess up!

_Kuno noticed how Haniji was slowly getting angrier and angrier. She was similar to a balloon with too much air – she was bound to burst._

Masahide: Shut it, Akira! I swear she has nothing to do with the murder at all! She would never do anything like that!

Akira: I don't need some kid telling me what to do. Can't we just vote now?

Haniji: If you all want to be punished…then go ahead…

Masaru: Then would you like to explain how it couldn't have been you, Haniji?

Akira: We don't need to hear it! It's just a waste of my time, listening to these losers…

Natsumi: Well we'd all be better off if we didn't have to listen to you bitch around all the time.

Eiko: Can you guys stop bickering so Haniji can talk?

Haniji: I'll explain…gladly…those footprints…they aren't mine…

Sugita: Are you sure about that? I mean, the one over there matches the one in the library! It's your own shoe!

Haniji: Yes, but…the footprints in the library…

Akira: Can you talk a little damn faster, please? This is gonna take forever…

Haniji: You want…faster? Okay…*deep breath* Wheniwasoutgettingthatbucketofpaintforthethingthatwejustdidiwalkedintothelibrarywherethepaintwasinthefirstplaceandthenigotitfromthebackandwheniwaswalkingoutofthelibraryinoticedthatthefootprintsleadingoutofthelibraryandtheonesgoingintokuno'sroomwheredifferentsothekillermusthavesmudgedawaytheirownfootprintsandputoneofmyextrapairsofshoesinthebloodandplacedthatovertheoriginalfootprintsbutthentheyforgotabout…the footprints in…the hall…

Elena: Uh…could you repeat that, sweetheart? I have no idea what you just said.

Haniji: Okay…Wheniwasgettingthatbucketofpaintforthethingwejust-

Sugita: Not that fast, please! Speak slower so we know what you're saying!

Haniji: *sigh* In short…the prints in the library and…the prints in the hallway…are different…

Natsumi: So you're saying that someone tried covering the killer's footprints with yours, but they didn't realize that there were prints in the corridor?

Haniji: Exactly…

Ryota: But that doesn't make any sense!

Masaru: Yeah, that's a little strange. How would someone have enough time to do that in between the time when we found the body and when we got to this trial?

Kuno: That person would have had to do it during the period of investigation, then. There's no other explanation…Now that I think about it, the footprints we first found were quite different than the ones that are in there now. And now we can explain all of the smudges that are there.

Daichi: But how could somebody be so oblivious to another person fiddling with the crime scene?

Eiko: Daichi's right! I wasn't in the library that much for the actual investigation…I mean, after I told Kuno about my door, I went back to the library, but I just couldn't look at that body any more…

Natsumi: Haniji and I were thoroughly investigating the body, so I can see how somebody could've easily slipped by us.

Sugita: And I was busy thinkin', right, Kuno? About the bruises she got from the fall!

Daichi: I still couldn't see two feet in front of me, so it would be impossible for me to notice anyone messing with the stuff around the library.

Masaru: Ryota and I will still there, but we were just…talking.

Ryota: IT WAS NOTHING IMPOR-uh, I mean, yeah…talking…

Masahide: And I was still in the library, but knowing myself, I thought everyone was just investigating.

Kuno: It would make sense to think that someone messing with the footprints was actually closely investigating them.

Natsumi: And Kuno was the only other one in the library at that time…

Elena: Are you sure? Maybe someone was hiding in there or something like that! …I don't know, I'm just trying to help you guys…

Kuno: Actually, that could be the case…

Sugita: What do you mean? During my deep thinking session, I didn't see anyone else in the library.

Kuno: Yes, it would be difficult to see someone that was well hidden. But there's a possibility…What if that person that Ace saw never left the library? Maybe they were the one who tampered with the scene while nobody noticed…

Ace: Very good, Okura-sama! You're so lucky to be born with a sharp mind like that.

Kuno: Ace, was that person you saw well hidden? Were they difficult to see at all?

Ace: Ah, yes, they were hard to observe. I assume that after I left, instead of running away, they just hid deeper into the library. It was such a mess, after all…

Masaru: So who could that person have been?

Kuno: Well, we would have to think of who wasn't around at all during the investigation.

Elena: So that means…there were only two people who weren't there! Well, a person and an animal suit, but same thing…

Kuno: Yeah, Pyonpyon-King was absent during the investigation. But we can rule them out. Even in the dark, it wouldn't be difficult at all to spot them. They would stick out rather easily.

Sugita: So who's the other guy?

Kuno: The other one who wasn't there…once again, he's back into our suspicions…

* * *

**MAKE AN ACCUSATION**

**KIYOSHI NAKASHIMA (AGAIN)**

* * *

Akira: Why does What's-his-face have to be so damn suspicious?

Kuno: Kiyoshi, you weren't there during the investigation. Nobody saw you there at all.

Kiyoshi: Hm…

Akira: Are you kidding me?! This again?! _Form some words_!

Kiyoshi: …I've tried to talk before, but no one's ever listened. I guess if I tell anyone what happened, you all wouldn't believe me, would you.

Akira: Gee, I wonder why no one ever listens to you! Maybe it's because you're a damn killer!

Eiko: But…that wouldn't make any sense at all!

Akira: _What _wouldn't make sense?! For the _umpteenth_ time today, Kiyoshi's the killer!

* * *

**NONSTOP DEBATE**

Akira: How many times do I have to educate you losers!

Akira: Kiyoshi's the only one who could be the killer!

Eiko: No, that's false! It's impossible!

Akira: But it makes perfect sense!

Akira: Kiyoshi was in the library the whole time…

Akira: Kiyoshi was completely capable of stealing Eiko's knife…

Akira: And he had an accomplice who helped him carry it out!

Eiko: But you're forgetting **what the killer did after!** If you all just remember what I'm talking about, you can get that whore to shut up!

* * *

Masahide: What the killer did after?

Kuno: …Eiko's right! Kiyoshi can't be the killer!

Akira: Ahem! As I was saying…

Akira: Kiyoshi's the only one who could be the killer! He was in the library the whole time-

Kuno: Exactly!

Akira: 'Exactly'? What the hell do you mean by that?!

Kuno: If Kiyoshi was in the library the whole time, he couldn't have been the killer.

Akira: Wanna explain why, then?

Eiko: Because if he _was _the killer, he would have left the library to wash off the blood!

Kuno: That's right. So Kiyoshi couldn't have killed Paige.

Akira: …Hmph. Is it, like, your mission to prove me wrong all the time?

Natsumi: But, once again, something seems off. Don't you think?

Sugita: What's so 'off' about it, then?

Natsumi: So if Kiyoshi was in the library the whole time…why?

Kuno: I…never even thought of that. *thinking* _Exactly why was Kiyoshi in the library? There has to be some sort of explanation…_

Masahide: Gee, I dunno…Hey, Kiyoshi! Do ya like books?!

Kiyoshi: …I'm not one to read that much.

Masahide: Well, I'm out of ideas now.

Elena: Can't you just tell us why you were in the library? Please?!

Kiyoshi: …I'd rather not, thank you very much…

Natsumi: You can't just _do _that. We need to start getting somewhere with this damn trial.

Eiko: So if Kiyoshi can't tell us…maybe you can, Daichi?

Daichi: W-Wha?!

Sugita: Yeah, he probably knows a little somethin' about why Kiyoshi was hiding there! Good thinking!

Daichi: Uh…I don't know anything! Yeah, that's about it! *nervous laughter*

Natsumi: You've got to be kidding me…

Masaru: Come on, Daichi. You have to know. You're with Kiyoshi nearly all the time, so isn't it strange that you weren't in the library with him?

Daichi: W-Well…You're with Ryota all the time, so explain where you were yesterday!

Masaru: Huh?

Ryota: That's none of your damn business! Besides, he doesn't even remember.

Daichi: That's bullshit! He has to remember _something_!

Ryota: I just told you, he doesn't! So back the fuck off!

Eiko: Guys, please! This has nothing to do with what we're supposed to be discussing!

Ryota: Then why the hell did you bring it up, dumbass?! Are you trying to stall or some shit like that?!

Daichi: I…uh…

Ryota: Well?!

Daichi: …You got me, I guess…

Masaru: 'Got me'? What do you mean by that?

Daichi: This…All of this…It's all my fault…

Masahide: So you're saying that you killed Paige?

Daichi: No, you idiot! I…I didn't kill the poor girl.

Akira: Then what the hell did you do?

Daichi: Ngh...I…I s-sent Kiyoshi to do my dirty work for me…

Eiko: So…Kiyoshi, you…

Daichi: He was in the library because I sent him to go kill Paige…So we could leave…

Eiko: !

Ryota: And _you're _one to be yelling at us for no reason…

Daichi: Shut it! You probably would've done the same!

Ryota: …But I didn't.

Eiko: …Why would you-

Daichi: Now's not the time for explaining. We have to move on.

Eiko: Daichi, I want to know!

Daichi: _I SAID YOU CAN WAIT!_

Akira: I'm not waiting. So explain. Now.

Daichi: WHY THE HELL DOES IT MA-

Akira: _Now._

Daichi: I JUST…I just…I wanted to leave, but…I couldn't leave without Kiyoshi. After I heard that damn motive…I vowed I would kill the first person I saw. And, of course, that happened to be Paige. But…I just couldn't do it myself! She was just so innocent, and…she wanted to leave m-more than anyone else in this room! I knew I couldn't do it myself…

Masaru: …So you sent Kiyoshi to do it for you.

Daichi: We…we planned the whole thing. I told him to go kick down the door and get the knife. Then he went to the library, and I just hid in my room like an idiot…And when I heard that crash, I thought that Kiyoshi had done what I had instructed him to do…

Kuno: But what about the whole pepper spray thing?

Daichi: Th-that? Hehe…I just did that to make myself look more suspicious. I thought that the more I denied it, the more suspicious I looked. Then you would vote for me…and…can't we just move on? Please?

Ryunosuke: At least we know a few more things now…

Kuno: Yeah, that's right. So Kiyoshi was in the library because he was trying to kill Paige himself…

Sugita: I don't get it! So did someone beat him to the job or something?

Natsumi: It seems like that's the case. So Kiyoshi would have seen who that person was. Right?

Kiyoshi: …Seen?

Natsumi: …_You didn't see who it was, did you…_

Kiyoshi: Was I supposed to?

Natsumi: It would have helped. Quite a lot, actually.

Kiyoshi: But I didn't. They tripped me. After they tackled Paige, they tripped me to the ground and I landed right on my head. Nice…

Eiko: So...you didn't have an accomplice, Kiyoshi?

Kiyoshi: …Nope. Well, not in the library…

Eiko: So Paige wasn't tripped. She was tackled by the real killer.

Natsumi: Who we don't know because _someone _here doesn't know how to _look up_.

Kuno: But what about the knife you had, Kiyoshi? Y'know, Eiko's knife.

Kiyoshi: …I dunno.

Akira: 'Dunno'? What the hell do you mean by that?! It was in your damn hand!

Kiyoshi: …

Akira: Why do we even listen to this guy…

Kiyoshi: The killer…they took the knife from me when I was on the ground. I could hear them throw it across the room or something like that.

Sugita: Sooo…they didn't use the knife to kill her, then?

Kiyoshi: I don't believe so…

Masahide: Then we've been going in the wrong direction this _whole time_?

Kuno: I suppose that's the case. So Eiko's knife wasn't actually used in the crime.

Natsumi: And then after Paige was killed, the killer must have replaced the weapon they used with Eiko's knife.

Eiko: If that's the case…then what did they use?

Kuno: Well, the file said that it was an intrusion made by a sharp object…

Masahide: So did they take another knife from the kitchen?

Elena: No, that couldn't have happened, sweetheart. We would have seen them take the knife if that happened.

Eiko: I can't quite think of anything fatal that could replace a knife in that matter, then.

Natsumi: But a sharp object…that's a very broad statement. It could have been anything.

Eiko: That's true, but just because something is sharp doesn't mean that it's fatal. A pencil, for example.

Haniji: Unless…you impale their throat with it…

Masaru: But the wound would have had to been to Paige's stomach. I don't see anything that could've done that…

Masahide: Hmm…maybe they took a knife beforehand!

Ryota: I don't think anyone was actually planning to murder someone before this morning, so I don't think that's what happened.

Masahide: I'm just throwing out suggestions…Maybe they took a big fork? Or a big spork? Hell, maybe they handmade a weapon for themselves! I don't know.

Kuno: …!

Akira: Ugh, what _now_?!

Kuno: Masahide, that actually made sense!

Masahide: What? A giant spork?

Kuno: No, no, no. That they made a weapon for themselves.

Elena: Made a weapon for themselves? What would they even use?

Eiko: I can't really think of anything sharp they could use…

Masahide: So did they make a giant spork out of stuff, then?!

Akira: THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH A DAMN SPORK!

Masaru: Hmm...I'm drawing a blank, here.

_Once again, Pyonpyon-King began to aggressively dance. _

Akira: Ugh, again?!

Kuno: Monokuma, can we have a translation, please?

_To everyone's dismay, the black and white bear had drifted into a deep slumber. _

Kuno: That certainly doesn't help. I guess we have to translate ourselves, then.

_Pyonpyon-King started pointing at itself, still jumping up and down._

Kuno: You? What about you?

Masahide: Is he trying to say that he's the killer?

Masaru: No, it's shaking his head now.

_The kigurumi started motioning towards its many scratches and stitches._

Ryota: Are you hurt or something? Were you dropped as a kid?

Eiko: Is something wrong with your suit? Did one of the stitches pop?

Sugita: This seems to be a running theme here, but I'm really confused!

Akira: This doesn't mean anything! It's just all of the ugly scrapes they got and stuff after the thing with the chandelier.

_Pyonpyon-King started to happily clap its hands._

Akira: What now?!

Masahide: Did something happen? What did I miss?

Kuno: …I get it! The scratches and stuff were a result of the incident with the chandelier, so it's trying to tell us something about that!

Akira: About how it almost killed me? Yeah, that's a nice topic.

Kuno: No, not that. If someone were to assemble a sharp and fatal weapon of their own, they would have _had _to use the remains of the chandelier!

Sugita: Remains of the chandelier? You mean just a whole bunch of glass?

Natsumi: There were more things other the glass that could have been used to make a weapon.

Masahide: Yeah, like the long stick things that hold the light bulbs! They could've made the glass and the sticks into some type of sword!

Masaru: And I could understand why that would take such a long time. To assemble a sword or something like that would be difficult, so the killer would have had to get the materials as soon as they possibly could.

Natsumi: So as soon as they heard what the motive was, they must've started thinking about a plan. And because of their basic mind, they thought that a knife was the best choice of a weapon, but Eiko had the one that would be the most effective. So as soon as they could, they grabbed materials from the remnants of the chandelier and made a weapon from there. That's what I assume happened, I guess.

Kuno: And the killer probably didn't have the chance to get the materials after everyone was gone, because of how long it would take to make the weapon...and how long they had before someone else was murdered.

Eiko: The killer must've known that someone else was going to try before they did, right? So it only makes sense that they got the materials while no one was looking!

Ryota: Just like another person did during the investigation thing.

Elena: So those two must have been collaborating in some way?

Kuno: Exactly. Now if we look back on what happened earlier today, maybe we could figure out who could have taken materials from the chandelier while no one was paying attention.

Kuno: We can assume that no one took the things they needed while Monokuma was presenting the motive, since that would be too noticeable.

Natsumi: And they couldn't have taken it after the whole entire group left, because that would take way too long. Also, if they were to just stand there while everyone left, it would seem very suspicious.

Eiko: So it must have been when a majority of the group left, and there were only a few of us there.

Elena: We can rule out me and Eiko and Kuno, since…well, you guys already know, don't you.

Ace: And me…

Masahide: We can also rule out Paige for obvious reasons.

Ryota: I was there, too, but it couldn't have been me. Y'know, because we've been cleared…right?

Akira: …I was also there. But I'm not working with anyone. I never worked with anyone. Can you imagine me working with anyone? Besides, no one would ever cover for me, even if they were working with me.

Kuno: …This is starting to make sense. For real, this time. And if we rule everyone out, there's only one person it could have been…

Natsumi: Can you tell us, then? I wasn't there with you guys.

Kuno: I think we have our killer.

* * *

**MAKE AN ACCUSATION**

* * *

Kuno: If we consider everything that's happened – the collaboration, making a weapon of their own…and now that I think of it, they weren't even there during the investigation! And all of this could have only been done by one person. Isn't that right…**Ryunosuke?**

Ryunosuke: What? How could you…You know I had nothing to do with this…

Sugita: Whoa whoa WHOA! No one's gonna accuse Ryunosuke of anything here, alright?! I _know _he had nothing to do with this!

Kuno: You can believe that he didn't have a role in the crime…but you did too, Sugita.

Sugita: I…HUH?! I didn't do anything!

Kuno: But you did. If everything here is adding up correctly, you're the one who replaced the original footprints with Haniji's.

Sugita: …There's no evidence of that, Kuno…Please stop accusing us of things we didn't do!

Kuno: There's evidence, actually. Sure, you had a 'deep thinking session' during the investigation period, but what did you do after?

Sugita: …A-After?

Kuno: Yes, after.

Sugita: Yeah, after! I went looking for Ryunosuke. He wasn't in the library, so I left and tried to find him. But that doesn't mean that any of us did anything!

Kuno: Sugita, you never left the library. Remember what happened after we heard that it was time for the trial? It was me and you who were left in the library.

Sugita: That wasn't me! That was Pyonpyon-King's true form!

Pyonpyon-King: *angrily stomps its feet*

Kuno: Sugita, stop lying. If you just admit to what you did, it would be a lot easier for all of us.

Sugita: Then care to explain how I got ahold of Haniji's shoes, why don't ya?! There's no way I would have access to them!

Haniji: …My shoes…

Sugita: Yeah, her shoes!

Haniji: I always keep a pair…by the bucket of paint that I had found…Just in case my paintbrush gets hurt…

Kuno: *thinking* _…Gets hurt?_

Natsumi: And Sugita was the one who suggested that we use a bucket of paint in the first place, just so she could frame Haniji.

Sugita: …That's not true!

Natsumi: But, being the clueless person that she is, she forgot about the footprints in the hall.

Sugita: …

Natsumi: If we can just change the projector to show the feed from the hall outside of the library, we can truly end this.

Ryota: …Monokuma's still asleep, though.

Natsumi: *sigh* I have to do everything myself around here…

_Natsumi walked over to the projector and fiddled with it. After a few moments, the screen went static, but then quickly changed to an image of the hall outside of the hallway. Once the job was done, Natsumi walked back over to her spot._

Kuno: As you can see, there are very distinct footprints there. There's no way that those are Haniji's high heels. Let's go see who that footprint belongs to…

_Everyone, except for Ryunosuke and Sugita, walked over to the line of footprints that had previously been made. After a few seconds of searching, a matching print was found._

Elena: Oh! I found the print!

Eiko: Really? What are the initials by it?

Elena: They're…not initials. It just says…_Ryunosuke_.

Kuno: That's right, he couldn't put his initials because he has the same ones as Ryota.

Masahide: So…is that it? Ryunosuke's the killer?

Eiko: I don't…I can't…

Sugita: No, he's not! Trust me on this! It's all a façade…uh, I'm the killer!

Masahide: Whoa! You are?!

Sugita: Why would I try to cover someone else's footprints? That's just damn silly! Hehe, how about we just punish me now, okay?

Kuno: …You're not the killer, Sugita.

Sugita: YES I AAAAAAAMMMM! Damn straight!

Masahide: Did you really just say 'damn straight'?

Sugita: Damn straight! While you imbeciles were listening to that bear's announcement, I got the stuff I needed! You guys have never paid attention to me that much, have ya?!

Natsumi: I remember you leaving recently after Monokuma's announcement. You never even approached the chandelier.

Sugita: …That's because I got them before! Before the whole announcement!

Ryota: I don't see why you'd need all of that stuff before.

Sugita: I…uh…nngh…

Kuno: Are you done? Are you willing to admit that you were covering for him?

Sugita: …

Ryunosuke: Guys, please. You know I would never do such a thing. Killing someone is just…just awful!

Kuno: But you're the only one it could have been. You were the only one who stayed a few minutes after the announcement who could have had access to the chandelier. And the footprints out in the hall are clearly yours.

Ryunosuke: Somebody could have taken my shoes and tried to frame me! They could have used that bucket of paint or whatever!

Natsumi: I'm pretty sure that everyone else here didn't know where the paint was. Except for Haniji and Sugita, since she's the one who used the paint to cover up the footprints.

Eiko: And it would have been effective, since the paint is the same color as blood. But…how would Sugita know where the paint was?

Natsumi: She must have found it during the investigation, after she figured out what the bruises were. She would have had a lot of time to do so.

Sugita: …But even if I did…when could I have possibly covered all of those footprints, huh? When I heard the announcement for the trial, I went directly to the gym!

Kuno: …That's not true, Sugita.

Sugita: Yes it is! Stop accusing me!

**FLASHBACK**

"_Okay! Time's up! Will all students please report to the gym? Thank you!"_

"_Okay, everyone. We should all get going," Kuno directed the students that remained in the library._

"_But…what about Paige?" Sugita asked, sadly looking down at her body._

"_I'm sure they'll take care of this mess. We should go," Natsumi said, quickly walking out of the library. Everyone followed, except for Sugita, who was stuck staring at the body._

_Kuno stopped and turned around to her. He could see that there were tears starting to form in her dark violet eyes. "Sugita…"_

"_This can't be real…she's not dead, right?"_

"_Unfortunately, she is. Sugita, we really need to get going."_

"…_I'm never losing hope." Sugita walked out slowly, Kuno following after._

**FLASHBACK END**

Kuno: You and I were in there last, Sugita.

Sugita: …

Kuno: I thought I was the last one out, but when I left, you most likely slipped back into the library to finish the job. Is that correct?

Sugita: …

Ryunosuke: And what does all of this have to do with me?

Eiko: The only person who would ever cover for you is Sugita, right? You're really introverted around everyone else, to be honest…

Ryunosuke: So just because I supposedly made the weapon myself and the footprints in the hall were supposedly mine makes me the killer?

Akira: Sounds like a valid reason to me.

Ryunosuke: Unbelievable…I would never kill someone as innocent as Paige…

Elena: But it seems like you did…just so you could leave with Sugita.

Sugita: …

Eiko: If you admit to it, it would make everything a lot easier. The only consequence is whatever 'punishment' means to Monokuma…who's still asleep.

Monokuma: …zzz…zzz…Huh? Whatchya saying about me?

Eiko: I'm just asking what 'punishment' means.

Monokuma: You woke me up for _that_?!

Natsumi: Can you just tell us so we know what to expect?

Monokuma: …Ugh, I'll tell you after you vote! Let's just say it's pretty amusing! Upupu! Now, if you excuse me, I'm going back to sleep! …zzz…zzz

Kuno: Well, it's sleeping again.

Ryunosuke: Guys-

Akira: Save it! We know that you're the killer already, so nothing's gonna work on us! Got it?

Ryunosuke: …Sugita-

Sugita: I'm so sorry…

Ryunosuke: No, don't worry about it. What's the worst that could happen?

Sugita: …I'm such a t-terrible liar…

Ryunosuke: This isn't your fault!

Sugita: Y-Yes it is!

Elena: What are you guys talking about…?

Sugita: If I wasn't so c-clueless…they wouldn't kn-know…I sh-should've remembered the f-footprints in th-th-the hall…

Ryunosuke: It's not your fault. They just…outsmarted us, I guess.

Kuno: Ryunosuke-

Ryunosuke: I don't need any of this anymore…You guys can stop.

Sugita: …!

Kuno: Stop? *thinking* _Is he…confessing? Why would he do that?_

Kuno: We just…we need to go over the case one more time, just to clear everything up. Then we can truly determine who the killer is.

* * *

Kuno: It all started as soon as Monokuma presented us with the motive – if you killed someone, you got to leave with someone else. As soon as that was heard, a lot of people must have been thinking about wanting to murder someone. There were two specific people who thought of carrying out an action plan, however. After the announcement was made, the killer, knowing that he wouldn't be able to obtain a knife beforehand, got materials he needed from the broken chandelier in the ballroom while no one noticed.

While that was happening, Kiyoshi and Daichi were working together to devise a plan for murder. Once they made sure the coast was clear, Kiyoshi created a whole in Eiko's flimsy door in order to obtain the knife. Once that was over, Kiyoshi went in and tried to make his move on his target, which was the unlucky Paige Sato. Before Kiyoshi could get to her, he was attacked by the killer, who had finished making his weapon. This left Kiyoshi on the ground in pain, unable to see what was going on. During this time, the killer made their move on Paige, stabbing her with the weapon they had. They made sure to replace the weapon they had made with Eiko's knife to put the suspicion on her. After they finished, and while Kiyoshi was still on the ground, the killer ran to the nearest open door they could find and cleaned themselves off.

During this time, a lot of things went on. Ace, after hearing the crash that occurred after Paige was killed, went to the library to see what the noise was. He saw the outline of someone in the dim library, but he couldn't quite tell who it was.

While this happened, Kiyoshi's counterpart in the attempted murder, which was Daichi, had called upon Monokuma to make himself look suspicious. He must have thought that the crash was Kiyoshi ridding of Paige. Masahide saw this weird behavior while he was walking through the halls, but thought nothing of it.

After Daichi and Masahide were gone, Elena and Eiko and I came out of the kitchen to see what the crash was. When we saw nothing, we returned back to the kitchen.

Eventually, the body discovery announcement was set off by yours truly, and we went into investigation. The killer's counterpart, recognizing the footprints, had stolen Haniji's shoes unnoticed and started to replace the footprints. But they made a vital mistake by forgetting about the footprints in the hall.

When the investigation period was over, the killer's counterpart, realizing that they hadn't finished the job, tried to stay in the library afterwards. I managed to get them to exit the library, but they slipped back in and finished wiping off the true killer's footprints and replacing them.

But the killing could have only been done by one person…and that person is Ryunosuke Sanada!

* * *

Kuno: Does that clear things up for all of you?

Eiko: …Oh my goodness…

Sugita: …I'm so…sorry…

Elena: Ryunsouke. Did you really-

Ryunsouke: …There's nothing more I can do.

Sugita: !

Ryunosuke: I guess my acting didn't pay off this time. I thought, hey, maybe if I tried to stay out of most of it, I wouldn't be so suspicious. But you guys are just too damn bright for me, aren't you.

Elena: Does that mean…

Ryunsosuke: …I'm so heartless. I just murdered an innocent person for my own selfish needs, and I still don't get to leave.

Masahide: That counts as confessing, right?

Ryunosuke: …I guess you could call it 'confessing'.

Natsumi: But I have one question.

Ryunosuke: …Go ahead…

Natsumi: What was that crash after you killed Paige?

Ryunosuke: Oh, that? Hehe…Just letting out my frustrations on that poor library. My emotions got a little out of hand, I assume. I still can't believe…

* * *

Emotions were running high in that trial room. Ryunosuke was wondering what the hell he had just done, Sugita was in tears, and everyone else was in disbelief.

Sugita started to choke out words of apology. "If I wasn't s-so s-stupid…I would've remembered the p-prints in the hall…"

"Sugita, it's fine. None of this is your fault. I'm just…" Ryunosuke had started talking, but it didn't last long. "I don't know what's gonna happen to me now, y'know."

Just then, everyone's favorite black and white bear sprung up from its long slumber.

"Upupupu! Are you bastards gonna vote now or what?!"

"I assume that's what we have to do," Kuno replied with reluctance. A lever sprung out in front of each student, and they selected who the killer was.

* * *

**GUILTY: RYUNOSUKE SANADA**

**CONGRATULATIONS!**

* * *

Monokuma: Boy oh boy, are you guys some smart folks! Well, besides Sugita, since she voted for the wrong person. You've gotta be careful about that, ya hear?

Sugita: …

Natsumi: Ahem. Are you going to tell us?

Monokuma: Tell you? Tell you what?!

Natsumi: What the hell does 'punishment' mean?

Monokuma: Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that one! Well, knowing me, isn't it really obvious? **Punishment means **_**execution**_!

Sugita: !? W-W-What?!

Monokuma: You heard me good and clear, Ms. Taiki! If you get found out for murder, your punishment is execution! That's the only _fair _thing that I could do for you! Upupupu!

Sugita: No! You can't d-do this! It's not fair! N-Not…Ryunosuke…

Natsumi: But…does that mean, if we chose the wrong person…

Monokuma: Exactly! If you didn't chose Mr. Sanada, all of you would be executed!

Eiko: B-But the motive-

Monokuma: Oh, that dumb thing? I lied.

Masahide: So Paige was killed for _nothing_?!

Monokuma: Pretty much! Letting two people go off scot-free would be unreasonable!

Sugita: …No…This isn't right…

Monokuma: Just because it isn't right doesn't mean that I won't do it!

_Ryunosuke seemed to be speechless. All he could do at this point was look around the room in disbelief. He eventually put his head down and stared at the ground, his eyes filled with sheer terror._

Kuno: …Ryunosuke, I-

Ryunosuke: No.

Kuno: Hm?

Ryunosuke: Just stop. Don't apologize. I'm…I'm fine.

Eiko: Let us apologize! It's our fault that…

Ryunosuke: No, really, guys.

_Ryunosuke held his head up with what seemed to be a faint smile on his face._

Ryunosuke: I feel absolutely terrible. For what I did, I mean. Murdering Paige just so Sugita and I could leave…Something's gotta be wrong with me, y'know.

Sugita: …I'm so…so sorry…

_Sugita abruptly started hysterically sobbing, her head in her hands._

Ryunosuke: Sugita, please. None of this is your doing. It's all mine, I swear.

Sugita: …B-But…I'm s-so oblivious t-to everything…

Monokuma: Bah! I'm sick of all of this lovey-dovey shit! Let's get this show on the road!

Sugita: N-No! Please! I'm begging you!

Monokuma: Any last words, Mr. Sanada?!

_It was silent for a few moments, but Ryunosuke finally mustered the courage to speak up. Knowing this was the last time he would ever do so…_

Ryunosuke: Sugita…all of my friends…I'm so sorry all of this happened. I had no idea what I was thinking when I did what I did. If I had the time, I'd gladly tell all of you my life story, but…hehe, guess I don't have the time. But seriously, guys…just do what's right. You can beat this…

Sugita: Please don't do this…There's just still so much…

Monokuma: Alrighty then! It's…PUNISHMENT TIME!

* * *

_**GAME OVER!**_

**RYUNOSUKE SANADA, THE SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL ACTOR, HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY!**

**COMMENCING EXECUTION…**

Ryunosuke is pulled onto a stage, where a bright spotlight shines on him. In the distance, Monokuma can be seen controlling the actor.

It seems like a play has started, and it seems to be a very light-hearted play. Ryunosuke is being forced playing a regular high school guy, but he looks to be well-respected by the rest of the cast. He's similar to the prince of that high school. He plays the role flawlessly, but he has no control over his actions.

The play suddenly cuts to a scene where Ryunosuke is trying to get his best friend a girlfriend. Oh, but does Ryunosuke secretly have feelings for him? It takes a twist where Ryunosuke confesses his love to his best friend, who instantly starts to bully him.

Once again, the play cuts to a different scene, but Ryunosuke is alone in a dim-lit room. A spotlight moves to a noose hanging from the ceiling.

Monokuma, still controlling the actor, forces him to slowly walk over to the noose. In what seems like an instant, Ryunosuke is standing next to the noose. The regret is easily seen is his face as he uncontrollably approaches it.

The stage goes black, but there's a distinct sound of a rope brutally snapping and something thudding against the ground.

* * *

Monokuma: Gee, that was fun! It fills me with such a good feeling of despair! Upupupu!

…

…

Masahide: What did we just…

Elena: Is he really…

Sugita: …

_Sugita had absolutely no expression. All she did was stare wide-eyed at the screen where she had watched her best friend hang himself against his will._

Eiko: Oh my god…This is…

Ace: This is what it looks like to be so unlucky, isn't it.

Akira: Can you not put your luck into something for once?!

Ace: …It's not my fault that unlucky trash like him get what they deserve. It's life.

Eiko: Please stop! Just…just shut the fuck up for once! You can't talk about people that way, you little shit!

Masahide: …Has the true Eiko been unleashed, too?

Eiko: …One of our friends just _died_, and you're still rambling on about your damn luck?! What the hell is wrong with you!?

Ace: There's nothing wrong with me. It's all of you. All of you imbeciles are trash…except for Okura-sama.

Eiko: Shut up about Kuno for once! You guys need to get a damn room or something!

Kuno: …Eiko, are you okay?

Eiko: Okay?! Are you serious?! I'm…I'm…

_Suddenly, Eiko's mood drastically changed. She went from being outraged and fuming to…_

Eiko: I'm…torn…

Kuno: Torn?

Eiko: Ryunosuke didn't deserve that! That was absolutely insensitive and disgusting!

Sugita: …

Eiko: And that motive…Monokuma lied about the whole thing! Paige is dead for nothing! Ryunosuke is dead for nothing! This is just so terrible…I just wanna…punch something…

Natsumi: We can't just let this take over our lives. It's bound to happen again. So all of you better just shrug it off and keep going.

Sugita: …Shrug it off…?

Natsumi: That's what I just said. Glad you could hear me.

Sugita: …You can't just _demand _something like that…

Natsumi: But that's what I did. It would help if you listened for once. You can just cut the whole 'acting clueless' thing and use your head.

Sugita: ...

Natsumi: Are you listening?

Eiko: Natsumi, please…Leave the poor girl alone…

Monokuma: AHEM! Man, you guys are bringing down the mood in here! I want all of you bastards outta here! Get into the elevator and SHOO!

_All of the students filed into the elevator. All…except two. _

_Only fourteen of the ultimate students remained. Without Paige and Ryunosuke, it somehow felt…empty. Things were noticeably missing. The constant stuttering and sheer awkwardness of Paige was gone. The warming vibe that Ryunosuke gave off was gone. The once cheerful and bubbly Sugita was gone. All hope they all had was gone._

_As the elevator went up, they all wondered what the next days ahead had in store for them._

_But they all knew one thing: The despair would live on…_

* * *

**_NEW POLL IS ON MY PROFILE!_**


	13. Mourning in Morning

_They're among the students, that is true…_

_They're out there and deceiving you…_

_Igniting the despair flame…_

_They put us in the killing game…_

* * *

Paige Sato and Ryunosuke Sanada were dead.

Kuno got almost no sleep whatsoever that night. His head was clouded with more thoughts than it ever had before. The most prominent thought: Why?

_The announcement still hasn't gone off…so why am I awake? _Kuno wondered. He was never up before Monokuma's eardrum-murdering voice blasted throughout the school, telling them to wake up. _This is certainly strange…_

Just before he was about to exit his room, Kuno heard a knock at his door.

"Uh…who is it?" Kuno asked through the door. In his mind, he was constantly thinking, _Please don't be Ace. Please don't be Ace. Please don't be-_

"It's garbage. Open the door, please."

_Was that…Kiyoshi? _Kuno left his bed and cautiously opened the door. Kiyoshi stood outside his room, a look of impatience on his face.

"Kiyoshi? What is it? Is something wrong?"

"If nothing was wrong, then I wouldn't be here. You're the only person who has a rational mind around here, anyway…"

"…Well?"

"Oh, yeah. The rec room's on fire," he said blatantly, pointing in the direction of the recreation room.

"On fire? How-"

"Just save it. Don't ask me, ask the absolute genius who did it. Come on."

Kiyoshi and Kuno walked out into the dark hallway. Kuno had never seen it during nighttime, and it was certainly a lot more ominous than it was during the day. Most of the lights were shut off, leaving the halls almost unable to see in.

"Why did you call _me_, though?" Kuno asked the boxer, still confused about the current situation.

Kiyoshi shrugged. "Dunno. Daichi wasn't answering, so you were my next choice."

"Daichi wasn't answering? Do you have any idea why?"

"Dunno."

"I mean…after everything that's happened, don't you think that-"

"I'm not talking about this right now, Kuno. I'd rather not," Kiyoshi retaliated.

_I wonder what that was about, _Kuno thought as they continued through the hall.

Eventually, Kiyoshi and Kuno had arrived at the door to the recreation room. Very distinguishable voices could be heard from inside.

"You're such…an idiot…"

"Well _sorry _that I'm not an expert with kitchen stuff! I didn't know that would happen!"

"Why…couldn't you just…_wait_…?"

"Because I'm craving a muffin! Don't know why, but I just really wanted one!"

Kuno turned to Kiyoshi. "Okay, I guess I'm going in," he stated. He opened the door, only to be welcomed by a huge blast of heat.

"Kuno! Please help us!" Masahide cried, fanning the fire with a broom.

"That's not…helping…" Haniji said, leaning back against the wall and watching Masahide helplessly fan away at the fire.

"How did this happen?" Kuno asked the pair.

"Well…I was microwaving a muffin, and next thing I know, it bursts into flames. And then the microwave bursts into flames. And then they spread through the rec room."

"How does that even happen?"

"I don't know! I'm not the Super High School Level Microwave User for a reason! Now can you help me?"

"I would, but I don't really have anything to help put the fire out…And that broom isn't gonna help," Kuno sighed, wondering how one could possibly make a muffin combust in a microwave.

And then guess who waltzed on in.

"Jesus! What are my students doing? And why are they setting things on fire?!" Monokuma yelled to the students.

"All I wanted was a muffin! I didn't ask for _you _to come!" Masahide replied, dropping the broom he had held in his hand.

"Ugh, you're so damn clueless! I have to do everything myself around here! Good thing I brought…my trusty fire extinguisher!" Suddenly, the bear pulled a fire extinguisher out from behind his back. "Stand back, fools! I shall save the day!"

* * *

"_Someday, Gregory, I'm gonna be just like you!"_

_Paige looked up at her older brother with determination. He was known in almost every part of the world for being an accomplished historian, and that's just what Paige had aspired to do. She had read practically every single history book in their local library and she remembered every single fact from all of them, even the miniscule ones._

_Gregory looked back down at his hopeful little sister. "Well, if you wanna be like me, you're gonna have to learn."_

"_L-Learn?!" Paige shouted in disbelief. "I've already read all of the books you told me to read! Haven't I learned enough?!"_

"_You can't just be book-smart to be well-known around these parts," Gregory told her. "You have to have…charm. Charisma, if you will. You have to know how to talk to people. You, on the other hand, have only talked to one person in their entire life. You have absolutely no social experience._

"_But…I've seen people around the library! Doesn't _that _count as a social experience?"_

_Gregory let off a small chuckle. "It's not just looking at people, sis. You have to engage in some sort of conversation." He looked off into the distance towards the library. "Hey, why don't I take you to the library and see who you can find there? There has to be at least one person there who you can talk to."_

_Paige's expression beamed with happiness. "Sounds great! Don't you worry, Gregory, I'll be the best talker there's ever been, and you know it!"_

* * *

"You better be grateful for your headmaster! You'll remember him as 'The Great One Who Saved Us From the Fire'! Upupupu!"

Even though Monokuma had put the fire out, the recreation room was almost covered in black ashes.

"Sorry about that, guys. I didn't mean for it to burst into flames and stuff," Masahide told them apologetically, looking down at the ground.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah! We've heard enough! Jeez, you'd think that as a servant, he'd know how to at least properly use a microwave!"

"…How did you-"

"I'll be seeing you guys later! Upupupu!" With that, Monokuma disappeared, leaving Haniji, Masahide, Kuno, and Kiyoshi standing in the now blackened room.

"…Nice job, Masahide…" Haniji commented sarcastically. "Now, if you excuse me…I'm going back to bed…" She started to walk out, but before she could reach the door…

*bzzzzzt*

"Good morning, students! It's seven in the morning! Time to wake up! Let's all strive to do our best today!"

*bzzzzzt*

"Damn it…I just wanted to sleep…" Haniji muttered, stopping at the door. "Now I have to…socialize…ew."

Kuno, Kiyoshi, and Haniji proceeded to walk out of the rec room, but Kuno noticed that Masahide wasn't following.

"Masahide? Aren't you coming?" Kuno asked. Haniji had stopped as well, but Kiyoshi was already long gone.

"How did he know…?" Masahide asked himself, looking up at the ceiling.

"Masahide…come on," Haniji snapped at him. This caused Masahide to finally come back to reality.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I'm just thinking," he replied, scurrying to catch up to Haniji and Kuno.

* * *

"_Let's face it…I'm never getting anywhere."_

_Masahide sat down on his rather hard bed, the truth starting to come to light. He had always been a disgrace to his family. He was even 'banished' with some of his other siblings to join this family group that had been rightfully named The Disgraces. They were nothing but glorified servants for the successful members of the Kotara family. While their lives were still sort of high-class, it didn't come close to the daily living conditions of the Kotara family members who had succeeded. Masahide was one of the failures among the family. His parents tried to force almost every single talent upon him, but he bombed everything he tried._

"_Why the hell do you have to be so serious about everything?" his older brother Akihito asked the young failure. Akihito was also one of The Disgraces, but he was a lot more nonchalant about the whole ordeal._

"_Of course you're not, since you're sneaking out all the time!"_

"_Shut up, Masahide! They'll hear you!" Akihito looked up at the ceiling where the upper floor of the house was. All of the successors of the family had lived up there. "Do you know how thin these damn walls are?"_

"_Well sorry that I'm not the wall expert."_

"_You're such a hardass, brother," Akihito said, sitting down next to his sulking brother._

"_Ugh…This is what's it's like to be a failure…"_

"_You're not a failure. You're just…not good at stuff, I guess."_

"_Wow, I'm all better now! Your words have healed me!" Masahide exclaimed sarcastically, throwing his arms in the air._

_Akihito was beginning to pity the poor little guy. He was so young and still so clueless. He thought that Masahide still had no idea why his family disapproved of him so strongly, but he was actually beginning to get an idea._

"_You…you should come with me," Akihito told him._

"_Are you _INSANE_?! They'll catch us for sure! We'll both be dead!"_

"_I've done it a thousand times before, and look at me. I'm still alive. Just come with me!"_

_Masahide thought about the idea of it for a moment. He always wanted to go see what else there was to the world, not just the servant's quarters. "Hmm…I guess. It's your fault if I get jumped, though."_

* * *

Kuno, Haniji, and Masahide arrived in the cafeteria, and to no one's surprise, not every student was there. The only ones there were them, Elena, Ryota, Masaru, Eiko, and Kiyoshi.

"G'morning, Kuno!" Elena happily called to him. It was easy to tell that her smile was completely fake, but there was nothing else she could do.

Kuno walked over to the ringleader, happy that someone had acknowledged him. "Hey, Elena. How're you doing?"

Her smile quickly faded. "Eh, I'm getting a little better, I guess. It's kinda hard, thinking that…never mind. I don't wanna make things any gloomier than they already are. And how are you, Kuno?"

"Same as you. At least you didn't witness the fire this morning."

"Fire?! There was a fire?!" Elena said quite loudly, unintentionally getting everyone's attention.

"It was _one time_! I didn't know that muffins could be so destructive!" Masahide yelled, a hint of frustration in his voice.

"Words…to live by…" Haniji said mockingly, nudging him with her elbow.

"So…there was a muffin on fire or something like that?" Ryota pitched in. "How the hell is a muffin set aflame?"

"He just…microwaved it…" Haniji responded, starting to fiddle with her paintbrush. "And…he tried putting it out…with a broom…"

"Okay, can we stop shaming me for just one second? Please?" Masahide begged.

"Kinda hard when you set a room on fire with a muffin," Masaru replied. "I'm still confused about that…"

"…Whatever. It's the last time we mention this, and that's that! Okay?"

Everyone in the room slowly nodded. It was silent for a few moments until Masaru spoke up.

"Does anyone know where the others are?"

"I couldn't find Daichi this morning, so I don't know about him…" Kiyoshi said quietly, not turning to face anyone.

"And everyone else…I'm not so sure about," Elena replied, looking around the near empty room. "At least…Sugita probably has a good reason not to come…"

"…Natsumi told me she wouldn't be coming." Eiko had finally spoken up, but her tone was a lot more deflated than usual.

_Eiko's still probably flustered from that outburst she had on Ace yesterday, _Kuno thought, worrying about the veterinarian. _It's best not to talk about that for now, I guess. I wouldn't want her feeling any worse than she probably is right now…_

"Why isn't Natsumi coming? Did something happen to her?" Masahide asked Eiko.

Eiko simply shrugged. "Not sure. She just kinda told me through her door…"

"Hey, Kuno, sweetheart. Did you hear from Ace at all?" Elena asked him.

_Why me? Just because he has some sort of obsession with me doesn't mean that I know every single detail about him… _"I'm not quite sure. I don't know why he wouldn't come, especially since I'm here." Kuno could see Eiko's face become darker.

"But what about the kigurumi?" Masahide asked. "It's not like it to just, like, _not _come."

"Well, don't ask us. No one knows what's up with that thing," Ryota muttered.

Just before anyone could ask where she was, Akira walked in to the cafeteria.

"Hi there, Akira," Kuno greeted politely, trying not to sound too pushy. Pissing Akira off at such an early hour wouldn't be good for anyone.

Unfortunately, keeping Akira calm was a nearly impossible task.

"Yeah, yeah, greet me all you want, I'm just here 'cause I need something," she said sharply, walking up to where Kuno was.

"I assume it's from me, isn't it."

"Who else? You're the only semi-helpful loser around here."

"Then go right ahead. What is it that you need, Akira?"

Akira looked around the room to make sure no one was listening, and then started to question Kuno quietly.

"Have you seen that kigurumi freak anywhere?"

"Huh? Pyonpyon-King? What do you need him for?"

"That's none of your damn business!" Akira shouted, slamming her fist on the table.

"Jesus! Can you calm down?" Ryota asked forcefully. "We don't need this first thing in the morning, y'know."

Akira rolled her eyes. "Well, it happens to be of some importance this time. Trust me for once. And I'm pretty positive that none of this includes you, so back off, jerk."

"I'm not in the mood to fight with you right now," Ryota sighed, turning away from the agitated designer.

Akira turned back to face Kuno. "So, have you seen him or what?"

"No, not today. You could go check in his room, if you want."

"Uh, no. You can go do that for me, spy boy."

"…Why me?!"

"Because I told you to!" Akira backed up from Kuno. "Now go!"

"I don't see how I benefit from this at all, Akira," Kuno told her, not moving from where he was sitting. "So what's in it for me?"

"…Nothing. Just go."

With a heavy sigh, Kuno stood up from his seat, while Akira glared it at him in disgust.

* * *

_The young Akira looked down at the scraps of clothing she had collected, fantasizing what she could create out of them._

_She was born into extreme poverty, so money was pretty much a fantasy at that point. They lived off what they had, and that was that. Akira would always be wandering around the streets, looking into the display windows in stores. The most elegant - yet expensive – dresses would always catch her eye. She hoped and dreamed that one day, she'd have enough money to buy something. Something nice and something for herself. A nice outfit, preferably._

"…_Hmph. If I can't afford clothes, I just have to make them myself," she would say to herself as she gathered up the scraps of clothing._

_Even with the most putrid of scraps, Akira would always end up making something beautiful, and she'd boast it as much as she could. People were amazed with her skills in making clothing. She thought nothing of it, however, since she was taught how to knit at such a young age._

_Eventually, Akira's mother started selling these fine pieces of clothing that Akira made for expensive prices. Fortunately, this plan had worked. People were crazy for Akira's designs. This made them go from poor and helpless to having a more high-quality lifestyle._

_With enough money in their grasp, her family created a clothing business. It was wildly popular among their community, and after a rather short period of time, its popularity grew tremendously. It became one of the most well-known clothing businesses in the world._

_Thinking that she was the source and head of the business, and knowing that it was so popular, Akira began to grow more confident in herself. She thought that since her work was so famous, she was better than everyone around her. She began showing different behaviors, such as being extremely rude and snarky to everyone she thought was beneath her. And to her, everyone was beneath her. _

_And then, on one fateful day, she received a letter from the prestigious school called Hope's Peak academy…_

* * *

*knock knock knock*

"Are you there, Pyonpyon-King?" Kuno called through the door. He wasn't happy about Akira rudely forcing him to go do something for her, but he most likely wouldn't be alive if he didn't.

After what seemed to be about five seconds, the door opened, revealing the giant animal suit. The huge red eyes on its face were extremely unsettling to look at, but Kuno had to do what he had to do.

"Hey there, Pyonpyon-King," Kuno greeted. "Um, Akira was looking for you. She wanted to talk to you or something like that. Not sure what it's about but…anyways, she sent me to go get you, so…"

Without any warning, the kigurumi proceeded to skip out of its room, heading towards the cafeteria. It seemed to be in a hurry.

_That was kinda weird, _Kuno thought as Pyonpyon-King skipped away from his sights. _Now that I think of it, this whole morning has been really strange. Masahide set the recreation room on fire, a lot of people didn't come to the cafeteria, and Akira wants Pyonpyon-King for some mysterious reason. I wonder if it'll be like this every day…_

After thinking for a few brief moments, Kuno starting heading towards the cafeteria where the other students were.

When he arrived there, to his relief, Akira was nowhere to be seen. That seemed to be a good thing for everyone, since the mood had noticeably went up after Akira had left.

"Kuno, you're back!" Elena exclaimed happily, motioning for him to come over.

"Yeah, I'm here. Did anything happen while I was gone?"

"Nothing worth noting, at least. Speaking of which, where were you?"

"If I tell you, Akira will probably kill me…"

"Oh, so you're running errands for her now, are ya?" Elena said jokingly, her smile not leaving her face.

"What am I supposed to do? Even though it's only our fourth day here, we already know how Akira gets when things don't go her way. It's a nasty experience, I might add."

Elena let out a sigh. "Everything here's nasty. If you know what I mean. Especially some of these people's attitudes." She leaned in close to Kuno. "I mean, have you _seen _Ryota sometimes? He can be a big jerk. Especially to me…" she whispered to him.

And then, Kuno made the mistake of looking up. "And speaking of big jerks…" he muttered, looking at who stood above him.

"Upupupupu! Looks like _most _of the gang is all here!" Monokuma laughed, it's red eye flashing as he did so.

He received several disapproving glares all around the room, specifically from Eiko.

"Aw, come on! What did I do?!" the bear squealed. After a few moments of not getting an answer, he continued. "Hey, if it weren't for yours truly, the whole place would've been burned to the ground! Well, maybe not that bad, but…the whole place would be slightly burned in one area!"

"Can you just tell us why you're here?" Eiko growled, her fists balling up. It was clear she wanted nothing to do with Monokuma after yesterday's events. "And if it's one of your stupid motives, I swear to god…"

"Oh, no, no, no! You're mistaken, Ms. Watanabe!" Monokuma exclaimed. "It's far too early for that! But in order to make my announcement, I need everyone to be here! So were the hell are all of those other bastards?!"

"We already discussed that. We're not really sure," Kuno replied, even though it was quite obvious that the people who weren't there were hiding in their rooms. Some of them had good reasons to, but others…not so much.

"So I have to call them here, then? Ugh, I have to do everything myself around here!" With anger, Monokuma pulled out a small microphone from behind him. "Ahem. You might wanna cover your ears in here," he warned the students. "It's gonna blast at full volume through every single monitor!"

*bzzzzzt*

"Attention, attention! To everyone who isn't in the cafeteria presently…GET YOUR SORRY ASSES DOWN HERE NOOOOOOWWW! Thank you!"

*bzzzzzt*

"Ow, what the hell!" Masahide yelled, covering his ears. "Why'd you have to do that!?"

"It gets people's attention. They probably wouldn't listen to me if I did something like personally deliver the message. But, I sense that two of your fellow students are on the way! Upupupupuu!

Just as the bear told them that, Akira and Pyonpyon-King walked in together.

"Jesus Christ! Was the whole 'killing my ears' thing really necessary?!" Akira screamed angrily at the bear, about to punch him in the face.

"Now, now, Ms. Yamashita! You know what will happen if you inflict violence upon your headmaster! I sense a punishment coming your way if you touch me!" Monokuma said with a snarky tone.

"…Hmph. I would if I could, and you better believe that," Akira said coldly, moving to the back of the cafeteria. Pyonpyon-King happily followed, skipping all the way there.

Shortly after that whole ordeal, Daichi arrived in the cafeteria.

"Hey! Where the hell were you this morning?!" Kiyoshi called to him as soon as he set foot in the room.

Daichi rolled his eyes at the sudden outburst. "It's nothing."

"Well, it was obviously something!"

"…I'll tell you later. Just lay off for a bit, will you."

Daichi slowly sat down next to Kiyoshi, who was fuming.

After a slightly longer interval of time, Natsumi trudged in, attempting not to make eye contact with anyone.

"…Are you gonna tell me why you wouldn't come out earlier, or what?" Eiko asked forcefully as Natsumi walked by.

"…"

"Well?!"

"…"

Natsumi refused to dignify anything with an actual answer. She simply walked over to an empty chair and sat down far away from the others, who looked at her with concern.

_Even more things to add to the 'Weird' list, _Kuno thought. _Daichi's being all secretive, which isn't like him at all, and Natsumi is refusing to talk to anyone. But why? Natsumi had nothing to do with the thing that happened yesterday…I have to think about why they're acting to strange. _

"…Hey, spy boy," Akira called to Kuno. "Where the hell is your boyfriend?"

Kuno slightly blushed at that remark. "Ace? Well, first, he's not my boyfriend, and second-"

"I'm right here! Hello, everyone!"

Ace, who was in an unusually cheery mood, had pompously strutted into the cafeteria. "You pieces of trash were ever-so worried about me, weren't you."

Kuno could notice how Eiko was about to have some sort of anger tantrum in the back. _Just as I thought. Eiko's acting so weird because of that outburst she had on Ace yesterday. But why didn't Ace come earlier? I know he would usually do it if I was there, and I'm always there. Could it be that…he was scared to come because of what Eiko did?_

The silence was abruptly broken with Monokuma's angry shouting. "DAMN IT! I knew this would happen! Where the hell is the volleyball girl?!"

…

"Gee, I don't know, maybe she doesn't wanna come because YOU KILLED SOMEONE CLOSE TO HER!" Elena angrily snapped at the bear out of the blue.

"It's Mr. Sanada's fault for killing little miss historian in the first place, so you might wanna shut it!" Monokuma argued.

He pulled out the microphone again. "Awright, cover your damn ears!"

*bzzzzzt*

"SUGITA TAIKI, COME TO THE CAFETERIA _RIGHT NOW _UNLESS YOU WANNA HAVE THE SAME FATE AS THOSE TWO OTHER LOSERS! Thank you!"

…

Almost instantly, Sugita ran into the cafeteria, clearly out of breath.

"Good, you're here!" Monokuma said encouragingly. "Now tell me…WHAT THE HELL TOOK YOU SO LONG, BITCH!?"

"…I wouldn't have come if you didn't give me a death threat…" Sugita was noticeably deflated. Her usually bright and shining eyes were now red and glassy. Her face was also very red and puffy, which were signs that she had been sobbing a lot. She was shaking in her shoes and not looking at anyone.

"Ahem! I'm speaking now! And it's some important shit, so listen up!" Monokuma yelled. He waddled over to a table and stood up on top of it. "Gather around, bastards! Upupu, it's like a campfire or something!"

The students reluctantly surrounded Monokuma, who stood gleefully on the table.

"Now, you're probably all wondering why I've called you here today!"

"Is it another motive? If so, I don't wanna hear it," Masahide muttered, looking down at the ground.

"I TOLD YOU GUYS EARLIER, IT'S NOT A DAMN MOTIVE! LEARN TO _LISTEN_!" Monokuma growled, angrily stomping it's tiny foot.

"Then I don't see why we're here," Eiko said, clearly losing patience. "I've had enough of listening to you for one day, bear. I'm not in the mood for this right now."

"Oh, then you'll be pleasantly surprised, Ms. Watanabe! It's some good news, so don't fret!"

"Can you just hurry up and tell us, then? I have stuff to do," Akira demanded in her usual rude tone.

"Okay, okay, okay! Geez, you guys are so pushy lately! Did you guys have some sort of personality change or something? …Aaaanyways, a new area in the school has been opened up! You can now access the next level of the school!"

"Next level?" Masaru asked. "Do you mean the floor upstairs?"

Monokuma gave Masaru a sadistic smirk. "Upupupu! So clueless! The new open floor is the level _downstairs_!"

A lot of curious murmuring happened throughout the room. _Downstairs? _Kuno wondered as the murmuring continued. _I don't really remember knowing if Hope's Peak had any levels downstairs. Besides, wouldn't that mean that…we'd be going underground?_

"So are you bastards gonna explore or what?!" Monokuma tempted, looking down towards the ground. "There's a whoooole bunch of new rooms and shit! A lounge room, a TV room, an observatory, an art room-"

"Theresanartroom?!" Haniji exclaimed, abandoning her usual style of talking.

"That's what I said! Upupupupu!"

"…IhavetogothereIhavetogotherecomeonMasahideletsgo!" Haniji practically dragged an unenthused Masahide out of the cafeteria.

"Let's hope he doesn't set that room on fire, too," Ryota muttered, looking out towards the door.

"Well, I guess I'll be seeing you guys around! Have fun exploring the deep despair-filled depths that await you! Upupupu!"

Monokuma disappeared, leaving the twelve students that remained in the cafeteria frozen in confusion.

"…You heard what the bear said. I suggest we go to this underground level and see what it has to offer," Daichi announced, standing up.

With that, the students slowly started to disperse from the cafeteria. Some of them, however, didn't even budge.

Besides Kuno, the ones that remained were Ace, who was insisting that they left the 'unlucky trash' behind, Eiko, Natsumi, and Sugita.

"Come on, Okura-sama. These pieces of trash aren't worth our precious time," Ace said in an attempt to convince them to leave.

Kuno, however, didn't have leaving as an option. He was extremely worried about those three. _Eiko's still really upset, Natsumi is acting more strange than usual, and Sugita…I feel so bad for the poor girl. She's been through so much since the thing that happened yesterday…_

"Okura-sama! Can we leave, please?" Ace begged, still using his unsettling tone.

"…Just wait a second. I'm worried about them…"

"There's no time! We must go see!" Ace grabbed Kuno by the hand and dragged him out of the cafeteria, which left the three girls in the room by themselves.

* * *

"…Eiko. Can you do me a quick favor?"

Natsumi had spoken up for the first time since yesterday. Eiko, startled by the sudden disruption in the silence, turned to the sniper.

"Yes?"

"I need you to leave."

"What?! L-Leave? But-"

"Eiko. I need you to leave, please."

"There's no reason! I-"

"Eiko, _please_." Natsumi was desperately begging at this point.

Eiko could see that Natsumi wasn't going to back down any time soon. For some reason, she really wanted her to leave. But that would leave Natsumi and Sugita all alone, and Eiko was terrified that someone was going to get hurt. However, at the same time, she wanted to bring everyone together. She guessed whatever Natsumi was planning wasn't going to harm Sugita in any way.

"…Fine. I'll be waiting for you outside, then." Eiko, with slight hesitance, walked out of the cafeteria, which left Natsumi and Sugita inside.

Natsumi turned to Sugita, and she noticed exactly what Kuno had noticed.

Sugita wasn't the same, and she would never be the same. Ryunosuke's death would be imprinted in her mind forever, and she would never be able to forget the brutal death of her best friend.

"Sugita. I have to speak with you."

Sugita looked up at Natsumi with worry in her eyes. "…Why?"

"I…um…I would like to apologize."

"For what? You…you didn't do anything wrong…"

"Yes, I did. I was acting irrationally after the trial, and I want to apologize."

"After the t-trial? …Oh, I know what you mean. Look, it's nothing-"

"_Let. Me. Apologize._"

"Ngh! I-I'm sorry, continue, p-please!"

Natsumi cursed under her breath. "I apologize for that as well. I'm not used to apologizing for my actions. I know they were wrong…and I'm truly sorry. Please forgive me."

Before she knew it, Sugita was starting to tear up again. She didn't want to, but she couldn't help herself. Even though she was strong on the outside, what she was feeling then was a whole different matter.

"It was wrong of me to force you to cope with what you had just seen. You…were right. I cannot just demand for someone to shrug off the death of their best friend…Can you forgive me now, please? This is really awkward for me."

"…" Suddenly, Natsumi found Sugita hugging her and crying into her shoulder. She was sobbing and shaking so badly…

"S-Sugita? What are you-"

"…Ryunosuke's g-gone! I just…can't…"

"Please don't do this."

"…I loved him so much! And now…I c-can't even…he's not coming b-back!"

Sugita's cries were muffled, but Natsumi understood them clearly.

"Sugita, please. It's okay."

"N-No, it's not! I'm s-such a mess! Why…why me?!"

"…I know that you can't just forget what happened. What that bear did to him was absolutely disgusting…no one's going to forget what happened. But you can't just stay sad for the rest of your life. You just have to keep going. I know it's hard, but…you can't shrug it off, but…"

"I…c-can't…"

"Just remember what he said before he was executed. 'Just do what's right. You can beat this'. That's what he said to us…I have to go."

Natsumi struggled out of Sugita's grasp and left the cafeteria, leaving the heartbroken volleyball player completely alone.

* * *

**Well hello there!  
I was thinking of having some kind of group event in one of the next few chapters. I would love some suggestions on what kind of event I should do. Some students are getting a lot more spotlight than others, and I'd like to even that out.  
Also, the voting is quite…interesting.  
Four people are in first place. (Hint: the protagonist, one of the pairs, and…you already know.)  
Aside from Ryunosuke and Paige, there's someone in last place with only one vote. Won't tell you who that is, though.  
If you haven't voted yet, go check that out!  
Happy despairing!**


	14. That Bear is Intoxicating!

**Helllllllllloooo! Before we get started, I just wanted to share with you who the top five were! This does not mean that they'll be the survivors, however. I just wanted to see who your favorites are. The top students are:  
10 votes: Ryota  
9 votes: Sugita, Masahide  
8 votes: Masaru, Daichi, Haniji, Pyonpyon-King  
Interesting. So you guys like those ones the most, huh. I'm not saying the one who got the least votes, since that might be offensive to their creator.  
Anyways, before we start, a few things must be spoken of…  
1\. There is a very slim chance that while this story is still going on, I'll do another Dangan Ronpa SYOC. **_**Most Likely **_**are the key words. This is my main priority, and writing 33 characters at once (16+16+Monokuma) would be too much on me. So…for anyone who was wondering, that's my current stance on the topic.  
2\. THIS DOES NOT MEAN I'LL NOT BE DOING ANY OTHER SYOCS! I already had one for Buffy, so why not? Hunger Games SYOTs are always a blast, and Pokemon or MLP or WWE could be interesting as well. So be on the lookout for those!  
3\. To those who are interested in my current Pokemon story – sorry about not updating. Hehe…I'm so busy.  
4\. To the few of you who are interested in my Buffy thing – Yeah. Actually, since none of those people actually exist, why don't you mosey along down there and give it a read! That would make me full of glee and all things amazing and wonderful.  
5\. (edit on 6/4/15) again, so sorry about the delay! But it looks like school's out for summer, to quote that one song! The updates will be a lot more frequent, trust me! Well, it's not my fault I went to Disney today.  
6\. (edit on 6/5/15) Okay, maybe as not as frequent as I would like them to be, but still pretty often. Life and fanfiction don't really mix together that well, but I'm trying my best to please everyone.  
7, (edit on 6/7/15) FINALLY I'M DONE WITH THIS CHAPTER WOOHOO!**

**Enough of this shit, let's get this show on the road!**

* * *

Eiko was starting to grow really impatient.

_What's Natsumi even doing in there with Sugita? _ she thought, leaning back against a wall by the cafeteria door. _It better not be anything bad…I hope Natsumi isn't being too hard on the poor girl. The last thing she needs is Natsumi yelling in her face._

Suddenly, the door creaked open, and the sniper walked out. She looked noticeably uncomfortable with her surroundings.

"Natsumi! What happened in there?"

"…"

"Don't do this again."

"…I don't think she wants to be bothered right now."

"I never _said _I was going in there."

"But knowing you, I know that you would. She's bawling her eyes out in there. She…_hugged _me."

Eiko couldn't help but feel terrible for Sugita. Within the last twenty four hours, not even that much, she was forced to watch her best friend be executed for something that wasn't his fault.

"Just leave her alone for a while. We should go take a look around at that new underground level that Monokuma was talking about," Natsumi insisted, about to walk off to where the others went.

"…Ugh, fine. But I'm coming here immediately after, got that?"

"Do whatever you want."

With that, Eiko and Natsumi walked together to the underground floor.

* * *

Mourning, a fire caused by a muffin, and being dragged around by a luck-obsessed gambler was definitely not how Kuno had planned his morning would be.

Kuno and Ace had arrived on the new floor that Monokuma had spoken of earlier. It was certainly more spacious than the floor above them, and there were a lot of new rooms to explore. The ever-so horrible lighting also seemed to have been improved. Most of the walls were a dark grey color, but there were no huge iron plates covering certain areas. Kuno thought that maybe the plates were replacing windows, and there's no point of having any windows underground unless you're very invested in studying dirt.

Kuno wanted to be able to walk around by himself and investigate all of the rooms thoroughly, but Ace never let go of the struggling guy. "Where are you taking me?" he asked Ace, who was wandering around aimlessly.

"…That, I'm not quite sure of. Wherever there are none of those insignificant pieces of trash, I guess," he replied, stopping in the hall.

"I'm pretty sure that there's at least one person in every room. We can't just stay in the halls. There's nothing to look it."

"Aside from your breathtaking appearance, Okura-sama, you appear to be correct. But I'd rather be buried alive in all of the dirt outside than be exposed to _them_."

Kuno was beginning to get fed up with Ace's behavior. Sure, he knew that a lot of people had better reasons to be pissed at Ace, but he thought that calling everyone 'insignificant trash' wasn't reasonable.

"I guess I'll just go off on my own, then."

"And leave _me _here? Oh Okura-sama, why would you do such a heinous thing?"

"…Because you're really starting to piss me off." _Ugh, bad choice of words. Why did I just say that…_

Surprisingly, Ace just laughed at that comment. "It looks like that's all I'm good for, doesn't it. Making people hate me."

"Almost everyone has a reason to, Ace."

"Even you, Okura-sama?"

"Believe me, I don't hate you at all. You were just being pretty harsh to everyone after the trial, y'know."

"After the trial? What did I do that made everyone dislike me?"

"…All of your talk about luck. Saying that Ryunosuke deserved to die because he was unlucky…that's a little inhumane if you ask me."

"…Fair enough. Maybe I do need a break from all of those imbeciles. All I did was state the honest truth, but it seems like that's not what the people want to hear…If you want to leave, then you can. I'd prefer to be alone for the time being."

Ace walked off into the distance, leaving Kuno abandoned in the halls. He was somewhat glad that Ace had left, but then again, he felt bad for him as well. _Having the people you're locked in a school with all despise you must be pretty rough for him. I wonder if he feels lonely at all…But now's not the time for thinking about that. There's some new stuff on this floor, and I want to know every single detail by the time the day is done._

* * *

No matter how hard he tried, Masahide couldn't leave.

Masahide was stuck in the art room, and pretty upset that Haniji wouldn't allow him to exit. After all, all the painter did was gawk at all of the art supplies that lay before her.

"…Can I leave-"

"Nope…"

"Why? I wanna go see some stuff!"

"Because…I told you to…"

"But all you're doing is just standing there and staring at everything! What does that have to do with me?!"

"Nothing…"

"Then why can't I leave?!"

"Because…I told you to…"

Before Masahide could fire back another complaint, Kuno had walked on in.

"Hey, guys. Are you two in the middle of something?"

"…I'm not really sure," Masahide responded, turning to look at Haniji. "Why are we here again?"

"…There's art here…"

_Art? Yeah, there are a lot of supplies you could use for making something. There are also a lot of paintings and sculptures, but I wouldn't go as far as to call any of them 'art'._

"All of these things?" Kuno asked, looking towards all of the Monokuma themed pieces of art. "It's all Monokuma. How is this art?"

"It's…beautiful…"

"Beautiful?!" Masahide asked in astonishment. "All of this stuff is centered around a teddy bear who's trying to brutally murder us, and it's 'beautiful' to you?"

"You don't understand. It's because…you're beneath me…"

"But I'm older than you! How am I beneath you?"

"Age doesn't matter…you're just so clueless…" Haniji walked over to several busts of Monokuma's head. "You see…even though this isn't my field…you can tell how much time went into it…That's true art…"

"Man, I've never seen her like this before," Masahide told Kuno. "Maybe it's just around art that she gets all wacko."

…_Even though she's acting more strange than usual, hasn't she always been a little bit wacko? Aren't we all a little bit wacko?_

"Well…uh…I'll leave you two here. You seem to be, uh, busy…"

"Don't leave me like this, Kuno! She won't let me leave!"

Kuno wanted to help, but he only had so much time to investigate the entire underground floor. He didn't want to waste his time hearing Haniji ramble on about 'true art' and Masahide complaining about it.

"I'll see you guys later on. Bye for now." Kuno could hear Masahide shouting at him as he walked out and left the two there, but he tried his hardest to ignore it.

_Well, that's the art room, I guess. All that's there are a bunch of art supplies, blank canvases, and Monokuma's face imprinted onto everything. Not what I would call art in my personal opinion, but I'm not one to disapprove people's beliefs. It also seems like those two will be in there for the majority of the time. Haniji because it's art and Masahide because those two can never separate. I wonder what else there is in store for us on this new floor…_

Kuno started walking down the hallway, looking for a new room to set foot in. He noticed that there were a lot more rooms than there were in the first floor, not counting the students' rooms. The floor above only had the cafeteria, kitchen, library, rec room, and ball room, from what Kuno could remember.

* * *

"Why the hell is _this _in _here_?"

Akira stood in the center of the room between two benches. This room looked to resemble some sort of observatory.

_Why is this thing underground? All we'd be looking at is dirt! It's better than looking at the losers I'm surrounded by, but…why?!_

And then everyone's favorite black and white bear popped up. Again.

"Upupupupu! Are you questioning the placement of the Monokuma Observatory?"

"Well, duh. Why the hell would you put an observatory underground? It makes no sense! Just like why we're here in the first place."

"It doesn't matter if the observatory is underground or not! All that matters is the marvelous view! Not as marvelous as my beautiful face, but it gives my face a run for its money!" Monokuma looked up at the ceiling of the observatory. "You see this?"

Akira averted her gaze to the glass ceiling. To her surprise, the view that came from the ceiling wasn't something that could be found underground. The sky was bright and blue and the sun shone as it usually did, at least before they were locked up.

"How…"

"Oh, relax, Ms. Yamashita! Do you actually think that I'd put an actual glass window to the outside out in the open? That would be too easy of an escape route! Do you think I'm stupid or something, bastard?"

"Uh, yeah. So is it fake or what?"

"…Yes. It's fake. And it changes simultaneously with the time of day, so you'll be able to tell the time from here!"

Akira was quite let down that the ceiling wasn't actually _real_.

_So, since all of this is a damn phony, I guess I'm stuck with all of these losers in this hellhole of a 'school' or whatever the hell this is…_

_And aren't we still doing that whole killing thing?_

* * *

"So…it's the TV room? And it's just a room full of TVs?"

Kuno stood in the so-called 'TV Room', along with everyone's favorite black and white bear, who had just finished talking to Akira.

"Yup yup yup! Only the finest of TVs are in this room!"

_I don't see the significance of this room. Why would we need just a whole room full of TVs? Is there any point to it?_

"Why, exactly, do we need a TV room?" Kuno asked the bear, glancing at all of the TVs in the rather small room.

"…Upupupupu!"

"That doesn't count as a real answer."

"Why should I tell _you_, Mr. Okura?"

"I thought that if I asked politely, then…"

"Do you even know me? Whether it's polite or not, I'm not telling you anything! It's just a room full of TVs for the sake of having a room full of TVs! Is that a good enough answer for ya?!"

"…Is that the only thing you're not telling me?"

The bear groaned at Kuno's unintentional willingness to continue the conversation. "Fine, you wanna know more?! My name is Monokuma, I have no particular gender, I'm afraid of mice, my favorite color is pink, my favorite number is eleven thousand three hundred seven-"

"No, not that stuff. I don't actually care about all of that stuff."

"Fine! You want some DVDs for the TVs?! Maybe the smash hit 'Fifty Shades of Despair'?"

"I'd rather not…I guess I should just leave if you aren't gonna tell me anything useful."

Kuno proceeded to walk out of the TV room, leaving Monokuma in there alone, yelling at him to watch some of his 'high quality movies'.

_I wonder what that was about. There's definitely something off-putting about that TV room. It's just there because he wanted a room full of TVs? I find that hard to believe._

_Well, anyways, I still have a lot more rooms to explore…And I wonder where everyone else is. The only ones that I ran into were Haniji and Masahide, and I think they're still in there. Maybe I should go ask them where everyone else went._

* * *

"I WANT TO LEAVE!"

"…Nope…"

"COME ON! IT'S BEEN, LIKE, MORE THAN AN HOUR! I WANNA GO EAT AND STUFF!"

Masahide and Haniji had been in the art room since they had first arrived earlier on. Masahide was starting to grow even more restless than usual.

"Masahide…please stop rolling on the floor…"

"I'm so bored! Can't I just go play ping pong or something?! Y'know, with myself?"

"I don't see…how that's humanly possible…"

Before Masahide had the chance to even process a comeback, Kuno walked in to the art room again.

"Um, are you guys busy or something?" Kuno looked down at Masahide, who was still face-down on the floor. "Because it looks like I've interrupted something…it's fine, I can come back later…"

"No! Wait! Don't go!" Masahide hopped back up to his feet, a look of impatience on his childlike face. "Nothing's going on. And you said you needed something?"

Kuno nodded, and then continued, "Yeah. I was just wondering if you've seen where anyone else could've gone. No one was in the TV room, and we're the only people in here…"

Haniji turned around from gazing upon the art, her face drained from the awe it held. "Yes…they're most likely in the infirmary…or the empty room…or the lounge room…or the observatory…"

"I thought you guys were in here the whole time. How did you know about those rooms?"

"Monokuma…told me…"

_That's strange, I was talking to Monokuma not too long ago…he's a pretty fast bear, isn't he._

"Well, I guess I'll be heading over there, then-"

"TAKE ME WITH YOU!" Masahide jumped over to Kuno and grabbed ahold of his arm.

"…! What are you doing, Masahide?!"

"I'm bored out of my mind! I wanna go see all of the other stuff!"

* * *

"I'm really confused…so it's just a room? And its only purpose is to be empty?"

Elena stood in the empty room with puzzlement, looking around at its blank white walls. Next to her were Ryota, who she dragged along to his distaste, Masaru, Natsumi, and Eiko.

"I don't really see the meaning to this room's existence," Natsumi pointed out. "The only thing in here that isn't a white wall is the vent on the ceiling, but then again, every other room we went to had a vent as well."

"Yeah, we get it, it's a room, and it's empty. Can we leave now?" Ryota asked impatiently, slowly inching towards the exit.

"No, don't leave yet!" Elena cried, forcing him back to the center of the room.

"Why? We're not doing anything. All we're doing is looking at a wall."

"But what if the wall's, like, really important? Maybe there's some sort of trick we could do, like pushing on it or somethin'…and then BAM! We've got an exit on our hands!"

Everyone in the room stared at her in utter confusion, wondering how someone could conjure up that possibility.

Before the silence could get _too_ unsettling and awkward, Kuno walked in with Masahide, who was still clinging onto his arm.

"Kuno, my sweetheart!" Elena exclaimed, her bright smile returning. "I was wondering when you'd show up!"

"Yeah, same here…" Kuno looked around at the empty walls that surrounded him, and he started thinking the same thing that everyone else did. "So…I would assume that this is the so-called empty room, right?"

"Precisely," Natsumi said, crossing her arms. "And I'm pretty sure we're all thinking the same thing. Why does this exist? What's its point?"

"It's probably just something the bear came up with to mess with our heads," Eiko muttered, looking down at the ground.

"Like that TV room we saw earlier," Masaru brought up. "It's…just a room full of TVs. And he was insisting that I watched some of his movies, but I declined. Especially since he made them himself…"

"At least he wasn't trying to force you to watch 'Fifty Shades of Despair'…" Ryota said with an obvious expression of discomfort upon his face.

_Hmm…this is certainly a weird new floor. This 'empty room' has almost no purpose, and the TV room has a similar appeal. Is there some sort of point or meaning to these rooms? _

_Well, for now, there's nothing we can really do. We just have to keep going…Haniji said that there was an infirmary, a lounge room, and an observatory, right?_

* * *

Kuno, Elena, Ryota, Masaru, Natsumi, Eiko, and Masahide all arrived in the infirmary. It was rather big, compared to the other rooms that they had all witnessed.

Along one of the walls was a huge cabinet, which Kuno assumed was full of medicine and such. A few beds were scattered around the room, with some curtains covering them for privacy.

After only a few seconds, a loud gasp could be heard.

Eiko ran over to the far side of the cabinet and stood there wide-eyed, frozen in shock. "No, no, no…"

Recognizing the fear in her friend's voice, Natsumi was the first to speak up. "Eiko? Are you alright?"

"Why is this…"

"Why is _what_."

Eiko turned to the group, her expression filled with sheer terror. "Come here and you'll see! Come on…"

The other six students in the room hurriedly went over to where Eiko was standing. It was the last cabinet in the whole row. The things that it contained were shielded off by a glass door, but they could clearly be seen.

"Why is this here?! Isn't this supposed to be an infirmary?!"

Most of the students were clearly confused. "I don't get it! It's just a bunch of bottles with weird names on them…right?" Masahide asked, his eyes locked onto the cabinet.

Eiko rolled her eyes at Masahide's unintelligent comment. "Just look at this stuff! Dimethylmercury, Botulinum toxin, polonium…this is all poison!"

"Poison?!" Elena's expression quickly changed to horrified. She pushed everyone away from the cabinet. "No! No one touches _anything_! This is too dangerous!"

Suddenly, a particular eardrum-annihilating voice rang through the infirmary.

"Upupupupupu! So you bastards found the good ol' poison, huh?"

Eiko began to become extremely agitated, similar to how she was that morning. "You're so sick…why is this here?!"

"I guess I'll have to answer that with my usual response – why not? I'm just trying to have a little fun with you guys! Besides, don't you think that poison is a pretty lethal murder weapon?! Just think about it! Just a little of this botulinum toxin, and the condition will become fatal in mere minutes! Isn't that just fine and dandy?!"

"No, that's not fine _or _dandy," Natsumi fired back, her face starting to become a crimson color. "This is supposed to be a fucking infirmary. Why is there a whole bunch of deadly poison in here?"

"Well, believe it or not, sweet cheeks, some of this stuff can actually help! You just gotta tell the medicine from the poison, and then you'll be just fine! On the bright side, at least to you guys, most of the poisons in here aren't even fatal!"

Monokuma opened up the glass door to the cabinet. Everyone slowly started backing up, fearing what would happen if the bear had is hands on poison. "You see this whole row?" he asked, gesturing towards the third row. "All of these poisons can't kill you! Ya see, there's some stuff that just knocks you out for an unknown period of time, stuff that makes you all swollen, stuff that makes you forget everything, stuff that makes you easy to manipulate, stuff that temporarily turns you purple…just some stuff you can use for fun!"

Monokuma closed the door to the cabinet, but he wasn't finished running his mouth. "Most of the medicine and stuff is on the other side, just so you know. Well, I guess I'll be seeing you guys around! I'm gonna go snoop on those two in the lounge room! Hasta la vista, bitches!"

The bear disappeared, which left the seven students in the infirmary staring at all of the poison that lay in front of them.

"N-No one's gonna try and use some of it…right?" Elena asked the group, her voice sounding shaky.

"If anyone does, I swear…" Eiko muttered angrily, looking down at the ground. "No one else is gonna die. Not on my watch…And no one's gonna turn purple, either."

_So, that's the infirmary…I'm still confused about the whole poison thing, but the last thing I need are more details about it. Now, I guess we'll all be heading back to the cafeteria soon to tell the others what we found, like we did the first time. _

Like he was reading his mind, Masaru spoke up. "It's getting kinda late. We should go back to the cafeteria to see if anyone else is there."

Everyone slowly nodded, then started heading back to the cafeteria.

* * *

When the group of students that were in the infirmary arrived in to the cafeteria, almost everyone else was there, with the exception of Ace and Haniji. Even Sugita was present, but everyone knew better than to get on her nerves.

Daichi, as usual, was the first to speak. "Well, since _almost _everyone is here, I guess we should start with discussing what we found."

Masahide perked up, his eyes widening. "Oh shit…Haniji's still in there...Excuse me for a sec!" He quickly dashed out of the cafeteria, leaving the remaining students to talk without him.

"…Anyways," Daichi continued, turning back to face everyone else, "Someone should share what they found first."

On a dime, Elena raised her hand. "I'd like to share, if ya don't mind!" She cleared her throat. "Ahem! So, we were in that infirmary, right? There are a whole bunch of beds and curtains and there's this huge cabinet with a bunch of medicine. But it turns out that, in the last cabinet, there's a whole bunch of poison! And some of it's fatal!"

"That's true, most of us were there with her," Eiko chimed in, nodding. "Most of the poison will cause death…but some of it just has a bunch of weird side-effects.

"That doesn't make any damn sense! Why is there a bunch of poison in an _infirmary_?!" Akira asked in her usual snarky tone.

"Monokuma told us the whole story about that," Masaru replied, "but it didn't really make sense to any of us, either."

"And speaking of stuff making no sense," Akira continued, raising her voice, "There's that observatory. The ceiling looks like the sky and all that, but it's all just fake.

"Oh yeah, we went to that TV room, too," Ryota brought up. "It's just a room full of TVs…and that's pretty much it. And if the bear asks you if you wanna watch one of his 'high quality movies', say no."

"There was also the empty room, if we're talking about rooms that have no point," Natsumi stated. "There's absolutely nothing in that room. Like its name states, it's completely empty."

"Excellent," Daichi said sharply. He went on, "The lounge room is identical to the recreational room that we have on this floor, so there's nothing much I can say about that. Now, was anyone in the art room? I believe that was also a room there, but I didn't have enough time to investigate it myself."

"Actually, I was in and out of there a few times," Kuno replied. "It's just a whole bunch of art supplies and lots of sculptures and paintings of Monokuma."

"Speaking of the art room…Masahide should have been back with Haniji by now," Eiko said worriedly, standing up from where she was sitting. "Um…can someone go with me to go find them? Please?"

* * *

_This is something I have to do…I want him gone, and I want him gone for good. If I don't do this, he'll find us out. He'll find out what I've done. And he's the only one who actually _could _find out. No one else has the power to…_

_It is my duty to serve my master Monokuma._

* * *

"G-Gone? What do you mean that she's gone?"

Eiko, along with Sugita who had decided to come along, were trying to comfort Masahide, who was panicking in the art room.

"I don't know! She was here! She's always here! And then she wasn't! So I looked around, and, and, and, and, and she wasn't there! She's not anywhere!"

Masahide had spent the past moments he had looking for Haniji, but she was nowhere to be found. "I can't….I can't lose her! Where is she?!"

"Masahide, please! I'm sure that she's somewhere!" Eiko assured him in an attempt to calm him down.

"B-But I couldn't find her! She wasn't in her room and she wasn't here…a-and I looked everywhere! She's nowhere!"

"…I have some sort of theory…" Sugita said quietly. She turned to Masahide with a serious expression. "Do you remember what happened to Masaru that one day? He just disappeared out of nowhere…that's probably what happened to Haniji. At least…that's what I think…"

This didn't stop Masahide from being close to losing his mind. "But! But then she'll forget everything! She can't forget everything! I need to find her!"

"Masahide, there's nothing that any of us can do," Eiko said calmly. "She'll be there in the morning, if Sugita is correct. She probably is, so you just have to wait."

"I…I can't wait! What if she doesn't come back tomorrow?! What if she's _dead _tomorrow?!"

"She won't be! Trust me, she's alive, but we just don't know where…" Eiko motioned for Masahide to leave. "We have to go. I'm sure she's fine, but…there's nothing that we can do in here…"

"…I have to keep looking! She can't be gone! She can't be dead! I have to go!"

With that, Masahide ran out of the art room, which left Sugita and Eiko alone in there.

"…I'm really worried about what's gonna happen…" Eiko admitted, losing her usually cool composure.

"I know. Same here…" Sugita looked over towards the door. "Everything is just so jacked up right now, y'know…"

"Sugita, I can't even imagine what's going through your head right now. I just want to apologize for acting so harshly this morning."

"Believe me, I've gotten enough apologies in one day." Sugita let off a light laugh, but there was a noticeable look of pain on her face. "I just don't know what to do now."

"…I'm not going to push you to be back on your feet any time soon. I totally understand why you feel that way."

Sugita was on the verge of tears for what seemed like the millionth time that day. "I know, it's just…" She faced away from Eiko, looking down at the ground. "I don't wanna do this anymore…"

Eiko walked over to Sugita, placing her hand on the volleyball player's shaking shoulder. "You don't have to try and push it all back…You can be miserable for the rest of your life, if you really want to. No one's gonna try and force you to be all happy and stuff. Trust me, we all want you to feel better, but…you don't have to. Not right now. Not the mere day after Ryunosuke was…"

* * *

Kuno sat on his bed in his room, thinking about the events of the day that had just happened. He was dismissed from the cafeteria, and it was almost night time, so the announcement was about to go off.

_Well, that was a very odd day, _he thought, lying down on his bed. _It started off in a really weird way, and ended that way as well. I wonder what's going on with Haniji and Masahide. Maybe…no, don't be silly! Anyways, I also wonder what Ace was up to earlier. He said he wanted to be alone, but I didn't think it would last quite that long. And now, there's that whole infirmary thing we have to worry about. With all of that poison and I don't want to think this, but…it's a lot more likely that another murder is gonna happen soon…_

*knock knock knock*

_Ugh, now? _Kuno stood up from his bed and walked over to the door. He unlocked it and opened it, and standing there was-

*thud*

*bzzzzzt*

"Attention, students! The time is now 10:00 PM, which means that Night Time is in effect. The doors to the cafeteria will be locked momentarily. Make sure to have a good night's sleep and prepare for tomorrow! Upupupu!"

*bzzzzzt*

* * *

**NEW POLL IN MY PROFILE!**


	15. Poisons, Fights, and Ceiling Fans

**Helllooooo! It seems like I'm back to my regular updating schedule…well, if you could even call it a 'schedule'. There's nothing in particular that I need to address. Oh, yeah, I'm looking at the results of that poll (which is still open and on my profile, by the way), and…let's just say that I was laughing quite loudly at who you guys chose. Kudos to the one who voted first, that gave me a good laugh. I can also tell who you guys want to stay alive. Only two of them have no votes. One of them, well, it's completely understandable. The other one…I really don't understand what you like about them so much. Aw well, you guys like who you like.**

* * *

…_Nnngh…_

…_What's happening…?_

_Am I dead?_

_Was I killed?_

_I don't remember what happened…what's the last thing that happened…_

_Where was I…_

_Oh, yeah, I was in my room._

_And then…someone knocked on my door…_

_I answered it…I think. And now…ugh…_

…_Am I waking up?_

Kuno had no idea what was happening to him. His head felt like an anvil was just dropped on it. His surroundings were extremely black and fuzzy, so he had absolutely no clue where he was.

_I must have been…No, I don't know what happened to me. _

He slowly started returning back to reality, his head starting to feel less of the gut-wrenching pain it had felt a few minutes ago. His eyes started to flicker open, and his surroundings became a lot clearer than they were before. He was lying down in one of the beds in the infirmary, but the lights were off.

"…nngh…" Despite being able to tell where he was, Kuno wasn't able to form any words. "…ugh…"

Suddenly, a very recognizable and cheerful voice filled the room. "*gasp*! Kuno! You're finally awake!"

Elena was hovering over Kuno, who was still puzzled about what was happening.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're awake! I was starting to worry that you'd never wake up!"

_I wish I could say something, but I can't…Ugh, I still feel so out of it…_

"W-Wha…"

Elena's gleeful expression quickly started to deteriorate. "Kuno…do you know what happened to you? Do you know why you're here?"

Kuno shook his head, but immediately winced in pain after doing so.

A very disappointed Elena stood up from Kuno's bed and walked over to the wall by the door. She turned the lights on, which startled Kuno, almost blinding him from the sudden blast of bright light.

"Oh dear! I'm so sorry!" she cried, scurrying away from the light switch. "I should've known you would be all sensitive from the light. I mean, considering how long you were out of it…"

"Eh?!"

Elena turned away from Kuno, feeling bad for how confused the poor guy was. "You've been out for a really, really, really long time. I'm probably over-exaggerating, but it felt really long to me…"

"How…long?"

The ringleader frowned, tugging at her sparkling tailcoat. "Let's see…you were out on the night of the fourth day…and it's the morning of the sixth day right now. The announcement hasn't gone off yet, though. So that's a few hours more than a whole day that you were unconscious…"

Kuno's eyes widened in disbelief. "A…a whole d-day?" he asked, his voice shaking badly.

Elena nodded, her face showing how upset she felt for him. "Yeah, a whole day…I'm so sorry!"

"But…how did…"

Suddenly, her face went from pained to extremely aggravated. "…Someone…ugh, it's just so horrible to think about!" She turned away to the medicine cabinet that was the length of the whole wall across from them, then quickly turned back. "Someone used one of those poisons on you…"

Kuno abruptly sat up from the bed, moving his hair away from his face. He attempted to walk out of the infirmary, but he was completely incapable of moving his legs. After all, being stuck in a bed for over twenty-four hours would take its toll on his body.

"Kuno?! What are you trying to do?"

Kuno was finally starting to gain his ability to form basic speech again. "Somebody…somebody tried to…k-kill me?"

Elena covered her hands with her mouth. "I…I don't know…I'm so sorry…" she said, her shaky voice being muffled.

_This…this is absolute bullshit! She's telling me that someone poisoned me two nights ago, but…but there's no other way that I could have ended up in here, is there. Someone knocked on my door…I opened it…and they poisoned me. I don't remember how it happened that well, though…It had to be one of those poisons with the side effects. As I recall from the other day, one of the poisons could be used to knock someone out for an unknown period of time…so were they trying to kill me, or not? If they were, they wouldn't have taken the poison from that part of the cabinet…_

_So did they take that one by mistake, thinking it would kill me?_

Elena tapped on Kuno's shoulder, interrupting his thoughts. "Y'know…they were all worried about you, Kuno…"

"…?"

"All of them visited you at one point…especially Sugita and Eiko. They were worried sick about you."

"…Then why are you here in the middle of…the n-night?"

"…I was actually here the whole time while you were out," Elena informed him, her face becoming a rosy pink color.

"You…you were?"

"Whelp, I wasn't gonna leave my sweetheart Kuno all alone like that! Besides, I was making sure that you were still alive the whole time…"

"Elena, I…" Kuno was pretty surprised by how much she cared for him. Visiting him while he was unconscious a few times was something, but staying by his side the whole time was another deal. "Thank you so much…"

Elena's usual smile returned to her face. "It's the least I could do for you, sweetheart! Now, I think that-"

*bzzzzzt*

"Good morning, students! It's seven in the morning! Time to wake up! Let's all strive to do our best today!"

*bzzzzzt*

Elena frowned at being interrupted so rudely, but she continued, "Do you want to go to the cafeteria, Kuno? It's completely understandable why you wouldn't want to go, since one of them…y'know, but I'm sure they'd all like to see you!"

Kuno thought about it for a few seconds, but he ultimately came to the decision that it would be better to go and leave the infirmary.

"Yeah, I guess I'll go…" Kuno replied. Once again, he attempted to stand up, but he immediately fell back onto the bed. "I would, but I can't really walk…"

* * *

Only a small amount of students were in the cafeteria, but there was a good reason for that.

On the fifth day, while Kuno was unconscious from being poisoned, there was a huge fight amongst the students, more vicious than the multiple fights they had on the first day. There was no real reason to it, but it ended with almost all of them locking themselves in their rooms.

The ones who were in the cafeteria, however, were the ones who tried to avoid the huge fight.

These students were Sugita, who was starting to develop the symptoms of depression, Haniji, who had returned from her mysterious disappearance not too long ago(and she didn't remember a thing about it), Masahide, who had made a vow to never leave Haniji's side, and Pyonpyon-King, who just kind of sat there, having no idea what was going on.

It was a nice surprise for them to see Elena and Kuno arrive into the cafeteria, even though Kuno looked like a complete mess. He was being pushed into the room with a wheelchair, and he still looked pretty out of it.

"Kuno! You're alive!" Masahide exclaimed upon seeing him being wheeled in. "Man, I feel awful about what happened to ya. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I guess…" Kuno said quietly, smiling at the thought that he was finally awake. It still didn't change the fact that one of his fellow friends poisoned him, but he could have been unconscious for a lot longer.

"It's kind of a shame…" Haniji said, facing the other direction. "You missed…that huge fight…"

"Wait, HUH?!" Elena asked, sounding shocked. "There was a fight?! I was with Kuno the whole time! How did this 'fight' happen?!"

"…Actually, I have no idea," Masahide responded, shrugging his shoulders. "It just kinda happened. And now, everyone else probably locked themselves in their room. I mean, you should've _seen _those two! They were on the floor, pummeling each other…"

Elena looked like she was about to faint. "That's…that's absolutely terrible!"

"It was actually…quite amusing…" Haniji commented, grinning to herself.

_A fight, huh…I have a few guesses on who could have caused that. But I don't think it should get to the point when two of them are beating each other up…I wonder who those two were, then._

"Ugh…so does that mean that no one else is gonna come here this morning?" Elena asked, clearly pouting.

"Pretty much. They all _really _hate each other now," Masahide said, playing with his fingers. "Even more than that stuff than happened on the first day. You guys remember that?"

"…I frown upon that sometimes…" Haniji muttered. She then stood up from where she was sitting. "Do you think that…they untied them from the ceiling fan yet?" she asked Masahide, who then shrugged.

"Yeeeeaaah…we should go check on that." Masahide and Haniji hurriedly speed-walked out of the cafeteria.

That left Elena and Kuno with Sugita and Pyonpyon-King, who still didn't say a single word.

"Sugita…did you see that fight?" Elena asked, cocking her head.

Sugita simply shrugged. "Yes, I was there…It was kind of bloody and loud, so I left…"

Elena covered her eyes with her hands. "Ugh…This is horrifying! How did things end up like this?! We were all peaceful a few days ago, and then yesterday, everything just falls apart…" She uncovered her eyes and faced Sugita. "Who do you think is the most approachable? Y'know, someone that was a part of the fight who I can talk to?"

"Hmm…the kigurumi over there was there during the whole fight, but they won't tell you anything…I'm not sure that you can talk to anyone. They're all pretty upset right now, I would think…"

Sugita stood up from her seat and trudged out of the cafeteria, muttering something inaudible.

Elena looked down at Kuno, who hadn't moved from his wheelchair. "Well, gee…I'd try talking to someone, but I don't know who to talk to…" Her face suddenly lit up, like she had gotten some sort of bright idea. "Kuno! You should come with me! I'm sure that they'd be happy to see you, and then they'd be all happy, and then we can talk to them! It sounds good in my head, so why not?"

Kuno gave off a small shrug. "I guess, if that's what makes you happy."

Elena, with a happy squeal, wheeled Kuno out of the cafeteria and on to their first target.

* * *

"I'm sorry! I can't really reach that high!"

Masahide was trying to get his fellow student down from the ceiling fan, but to no avail. He was both way too short to reach her, and he had a clear idea that after the fight, no one would want to help her down.

"Then…can't you fucking midgets just stand on each other's shoulders or something?!" Akira shouted down to them, struggling to get to the ground.

After the 'big fight' that had happened yesterday, for some reason, everyone was really pissed off at Akira. Sure, she had started a whole bunch of fights with all of her fellow students, but she didn't cause this one. _Hell, I wasn't one of those lunatics who were beating each other up… _she thought as she watched Masahide jump up and down, trying to reach her. Haniji was leaning back against the wall, watching in amusement.

"Hey, creepo!" Akira yelled, directed towards Haniji.

"…Hmm?"

"Are you gonna help that loser down there get me down or what?!"

Haniji shrugged, crossing her arms. "I dunno…maybe someday…"

"That's not even fair! You're taller than him, anyways, so the least you could do is _try_!"

"Hey, she's only taller by, like, three inches, so you better shut it!" Masahide retaliated with rage. He didn't enjoy being so short and puny, and it got even worse when someone called him out for it.

"Heh, and how old are you, loser? 'Cause I don't think that's a healthy height for a high school student…"

"Look who's talking! You're not that tall, either!"

"Yeah, well at least it's excusable for a girl. For a guy your age, you should be a lot taller and less…childlike," Akira told him, rolling her eyes. "Now how old are you again?"

"Fifteen. So? "

Akira turned to Haniji, who hadn't moved from the wall she leaned on. "And how old is the creepo over there?"

"…Fourteen…"

Akira let off an eerie laugh. "That's _ridiculous_! I don't see how anyone could be even more loser-like than you two! Gyahahah!"

Masahide stopped trying to reach Akira, and when he looked up at her, his face was anything but amused. "Fine. If you treat us like shit, we're leaving you up there."

"Go ahead! Hell, it's better than listening to all of you idiots all day."

"Okay. See you around, Akira! If you ever get down, that is," Masahide said in a mocking tone. With that, Masahide and Haniji left the room, leaving Akira hanging from the ceiling fan all by herself.

…_It's nice being alone, I guess…better than wasting my time with all of those losers. After that fight, the last thing I want to do is talk to any of the-_

*creeeeaaak*

"Oh shi-"

*thud*

* * *

"Elena…are you sure that, out of all people, _he's _the one that's gonna talk to you?"

Kuno and Elena were in front of one of their fellow student's doors. Elena was prepared to start pounding on it.

"Of course! He's the only one that I can think of who would actually be in the mood to talk to someone! I know it, everything will be cleared up in no time!"

"…I'm not so sure about that," Kuno questioned, looking at that student's door. "I mean, out of all of us, I don't think that Kiyoshi is gonna tell you anything in extreme detail."

_Besides, Kiyoshi doesn't talk that much in the first place. The most I've ever heard him talk was yesterd – no, I mean, two days ago. He knocked on my door to come get me when Masahide set the recreation room on fire. The only things that he says are 'I dunno' and how he's garbage…so if Elena expects to get anything out of him, then she must be imagining things…but I don't want to make her upset. Not after how nice she's been. I don't want to rain on her parade…I guess I'll just let her do what she wants._

Before Kuno could say anything else, Elena was already banging on Kiyoshi's door.

"Hey, Kiyoshi! It's Elena! Can I talk to you for a few?" she asked loudly through his door, continuing to pound the life out of his poor door.

For a few long moments, there was no response. It was going just as Kuno thought it would go – Kiyoshi wouldn't really be someone to engage in a conversation with.

Surprisingly, after a few more seconds, Kiyoshi's door slowly creaked open. He wouldn't open it up all the way, however, so you couldn't see his face that well.

"…Yes?" he asked, fed up with the annoying sound of his door being pummeled.

"Helllooo, Kiyoshi! I'd just like to talk to you for a few minutes! Is that okay with you, sweetheart?"

"…If it's about the fight, then I'd rather not. Sorry…" His gaze averted to Kuno, "Oh, hey, Kuno."

"Hi, Kiyoshi," Kuno said quietly, looking at the ground.

"You okay? We all thought you were dead or something."

"Yes, I'm fine." He then looked over to the wheelchair he was sitting on. "Well, mostly. I can't really walk yet, but I'm sure I'll be fine."

"…That's good. Well…bye."

Kiyoshi quickly slammed his door shut, which startled Elena quite a bit. "Well…that was a little rude…"

"I told you he wasn't going to tell us anything. Not anything actually useful to us, I guess."

Elena sighed heavily, turning to the rest of the doors that were in that hallway. "Whelp, I'm still not giving up! Who should I ask next?" Elena didn't wait for Kuno to respond. "I wonder…there are a few people that I'm _positive _won't comply with me, and almost everyone else is pretty much unapproachable…" Her face lit up again with her 'I Have an Idea' look. "I know! I know! I'm sure that _he _won't be all stubborn!"

Elena grabbed onto Kuno's wheelchair and dragged him across the hall to the room a few doors down. "There we go!" she exclaimed happily as they stood in front of the new door.

"Elena, I'm not so sure about him, either…he's certainly more vocal and less stubborn than Kiyoshi, but-"

As Kuno thought, Elena wasn't listening to him. She was pounding on the student's door, calling to him through the door.

"Hey, Masaru! It's Elena! Can I talk to you for a few?" she asked through the door, aggressively banging her fist against the diplomat's door.

It startled the two when Masaru immediately opened his door, the complete opposite of how Kiyoshi had acted. "Huh?"

"Masaru! I knew that you'd listen! Uh, can I talk to you for a few minutes?"

Another voice could be heard from the back of Masaru's room. "What? Who's at the door?"

Elena squealed with glee. "Oh, is Ryota in there, too? Yay! Now I have more people to talk to!" she said joyfully, a smile plastered across her face.

Ryota walked up to the door and stood next to Masaru, facing the two outside the door. "Is there anything you guys need or…oh, hey, Kuno! Didn't realize you were there at first! How you doing?"

Kuno smiled lightly, feeling slightly uplifted that people were actually concerned for him, as Elena had told him earlier that day. "I'm okay, I guess. In a wheelchair, but I'm fine."

"We were worried about you, Kuno," Masaru said, grinning. "No one had any idea how long you'd be out of it, so we're pretty lucky that it was only a day."

"And it was a good thing that you missed yesterday, too," Ryota continued. "I'm sure you already know, but there was that huge fight and shit." His expression suddenly changed to annoyed. "Monokuma also banned me from my room, too…fuck that bear…"

"Banned you from your own room?" Kuno asked. "Was there any reason to it, or did he just…"

"Man, I have no idea. He also said that I'm not allowed to stay in the same room for more than a day, so I have to keep asking people to sleep on their floor. The bear said it was because I was sleep talking too much or something like that…"

"Well, anyways, you guys came here for something?" Masaru asked Elena and Kuno.

"Yes, we did!" Elena exclaimed. "We want to know what went down during that fight! It must've been pretty bad, from what I heard. Like, we heard that people were beating each other up, and someone was tied to a ceiling fan?"

"Unfortunately, yeah…we didn't do anything, though. Actually, I have no idea who did that to her…" Masaru said, looking off into the distance.

"Um, _who_ was tied to a ceiling fan? And why?" Elena asked with worry.

"Isn't it kinda obvious? What other girl would everyone want to tie to a ceiling fan?" Ryota asked them, suggesting that it was easy to figure out.

"…So, Akira's tied to a ceiling fan, huh," Kuno assumed. "I wouldn't go as far as to tie her to a ceiling fan, but…it's kind of understandable."

* * *

_Ow…shit…I think I broke something…_

Akira was frozen on the ground, face-down and in extreme pain. Yes, she fell from the ceiling, but the fan fell along with her. Now, she was stuck on the ground, motionless on the floor with a ceiling fan on her back.

…_I don't wanna admit it, but I really need help. There's a freaking ceiling fan on me, and I don't think I can actually move…_

"Hey…any of you losers there?! Can you help me out, here?!" she shouted, her voice cracking.

She attempted to stand up, but she could barely move.

_Well…this really sucks. And I don't think that anyone's around, so…I'm just gonna…lay here…alone…ow._

* * *

Elena and Kuno were heading out of Masaru's room.

They had just been informed about some of the events that took place during the illusive 'big fight'. Apparently, there was so much shouting and arguing that Monokuma had to come and break it up.

He dealt out punishments to some of the students, not the execution punishment, but just stuff that would annoy them. According to Ryota, Monokuma had given him a punishment, and he was banned from entering his room for the next few days. However, Monokuma wasn't the one who tied Akira to the ceiling fan, so that was done by one of their fellow students.

Elena and Kuno were going to talk to one of the students that got into the bloody fistfight that they talked about. Pretty soon, Elena was pounding on their door.

"Hellllloooooo! It's Elena! I'd like to talk to you for a second, sweetheart!" Elena called.

The door quickly opened, but once again, you couldn't see his face that well.

"Hiya there, Kiyoshi! It's me again!"

"…Yes? Is there something you want from me?"

"Yeah, actually, there is! I was just wonderin'-"

"Ugh. Someone told you about what happened, didn't they," Kiyoshi said quietly, looking away from Elena's determined eyes.

"…Yup. I just wanna know what happened between you two! Why did you guys start beating each other up?"

"That's none of your business. I'd rather not say."

"Please, Kiyoshi? I'm not trying to offend you or anything. I just wanna help."

"That's the thing. I don't _need _help. None of this concerns you. Maybe if you were there, you would've seen what happened…but you weren't. Now please stop banging on my door. Thanks."

Just like he had before, Kiyoshi forcefully slammed the door on them.

"…Should we go talk to the other one, Kuno? Kiyoshi's being kind of rude, so…"

"I don't know. If we can't get anything out of Kiyoshi, we certainly aren't gonna get anything out of _her_, either. The last thing she'd want to do is talk to us."

However, before Kuno could finish advising a warning to Elena, she was already banging on their door.

"Hellllooooo! Are you in there, sweetheart? It's me, Elena! I just wanted to talk to you for a se-"

"_Leave_," they shouted through their door, not wanting anything to do with Elena.

"Come on, sweetheart! I just want to know what happened between you two!"

About one second after Elena finished her sentence, Natsumi opened her door. "_What do you want_."

"…N-Natsumi…are you okay, darling?"

Natsumi started becoming visibly angrier. "What the hell do you think? I pick a fight with a boxer, and this is what I get…" she said, gesturing towards her face. She was bruised in several spots, most noticeably on her jaw. "I don't regret anything that I said to him. He deserved everything that came to him…"

"But why did you fight with Kiyoshi? It's not very safe, doing that in front of almost everyone…"

"…I'd rather not speak with you at this very moment. Please get out of my face…Hello, Kuno."

"Hey, Natsumi."

"I'm glad to see that you haven't perished…yet." After being distracted for a few seconds, she turned back to Elena. "Now, if you excuse me, I'm kind of busy right now. Farewell."

Natsumi slammed the door on them, perhaps even more forcefully than Kiyoshi had.

"Hmm…I'm really worried about everyone, Kuno. I'm pretty sure that it'll take a long time for someone to start apologizing after what happened. We weren't even there for that fight, but it must have been horrible…"

"I know. But…there's nothing we can really do for now. It doesn't seem like anyone else would be really willing to talk to us."

_Well, what to do now…it's not really that late, and there's no one around that we can really talk to. Aside from Haniji and Masahide, but they're probably cooped up in the art room. But then again, Akira's still tied to a ceiling fan, and Pyonpyon-King is probably waddling around somewhere…_

"Oh, Kuno! I almost forgot!" Elena cried, her jaw dropping.

"Huh? Almost forgot what?"

"The thing! The…" Elena fiddled around in her red and gold tailcoat, feeling around for something.

"What thing?"

After a few brief moments, Elena pulled out a small white bottle. "_This _thing! I…found it outside of your door on the fourth night. And when I went in, you were…yeah. It's the poison that one of those bubs used on you."

Elena handed the bottle to Kuno, who quickly snatched it from her. "So this is what they used?"

"I believe so. There's a list of side effects on the back, so…"

Kuno turned the bottle around, almost dropping it in the process. _So this is what they used…yeah, it knocked me out for a while, but I wonder what else it's gonna do to me…_

The bottle of poison, in fine print, read:

_Side Effects:_

_Unconsciousness – Absolute; Time length: Unknown  
Chills – Uncertain; Time length: Unknown (after awakening)  
Loss of Speech – Uncertain; Time length: Unknown (after awakening)  
Loss of Eyesight – Uncertain; Time length: 1 to 3 days (after awakening)  
Arm Paralysis – Uncertain; Time length: 2 to 3 days (after awakening)  
Leg Paralysis – Uncertain; Time length: Unknown (after awakening)  
Turning Pink – Uncertain; Time length: 5 to 8 hours (after awakening)  
Seizures – Uncertain; Time length: 1 to 4 days (after awakening)  
Full Body Paralysis – Uncertain; Time length –Unknown (after awakening)_

_Have fun!  
-Headmaster Monokuma_

"Oh god…that's kinda…strange…" Kuno muttered, not being able to take his eyes off of the odd side effects.

"I just thought that you'd like to know…like if you suddenly turned pink or something, you should at least know why…" Elena sounded like she felt terrible for Kuno, which she did. After all, her dear friend was stuck in a wheel chair, and someone had tried to kill him a couple of days ago. "Kuno…I'm so sorry…"

"Just stop. Don't apologize. I'm…I'm fine…" Kuno said quietly. His words sounded eerily familiar…

* * *

"_Just stop. Don't apologize. I'm…I'm fine."_

"_Let us apologize! It's our fault that…"_

"_No, really, guys…_ _I feel absolutely terrible. For what I did, I mean. Murdering Paige just so Sugita and I could leave…Something's gotta be wrong with me, y'know."_

"…_I'm so…so sorry…"_

* * *

"Kuno, you don't deserve any of this! I don't _know _why someone would try to kill you, and…I'm so sorry…"

"Su- I mean, Elena, it's fine. You don't have to apologize. You're not the one who did this to me…and I can't thank you enough for caring so much."

"…I couldn't just leave you like that. I didn't know if death was a side effect or not, and I was just making sure that I didn't lose you…"

"…"

"…Kuno?!"

* * *

"Okay! I've been on the ground for MOST OF THE FREAKING DAY! Can one of you losers just come and help me?!"

Akira was still trying to get up, but the ceiling fan was surprisingly really heavy on her back. "I have to go to the damn bathroom! Can't someone just come?! PLEASE?!"

Pretty confident in the fact that her bladder was about to burst, she went to her last resort: "Hey, bear! Get your sorry ass over here NOW!"

In an instant, everyone's favorite black and white bear appeared in front of the distressed designer.

"Upupupu! Speak of the Monokuma, and he shall appear! Now, whatcha call me in here for, sweet cheeks?"

"Why the hell do you think I did? As you can see, I'm kinda stuck under a freaking ceiling fan!"

"…And? What does that have to do with me?!"

"…Can you just get it off of me? So I don't, y'know, die?!"

"Only if you say the magic word!" the bear laughed, its usual sadistic grin on its face.

"Ugh. _Please_."

"Aw, come on! Say it like you mean it!"

"_Please…_"

"Louder and prouder, Ms. Yamashita, or else you're stuck under that ceiling fan for good!"

"PLEASE JUST GET THIS FAN OFF OF ME!"

"Good job, Ms. Yamashita! That's worthy of a Bearscout Badge!" Monokuma waddled over to the ceiling fan that pinned Akira down. "This might hurt a bit…eh, who cares?!" The bear forcefully kicked the fan off of her back. "Is that better for ya?!"

Akira slowly stood up, feeling as if she hadn't moved in hours, which was true, in her case. But just as soon as she was about to walk out…

"It's still tied to me! Get this thing off of me!"' The fan was still tied to Akira, and it was quite heavy for her to carry around.

"Well, you never asked me! I guess I'll be on my, then!"

"Don't you da-"

"Upupupu! See ya around, bastard!" Monokuma disappeared, leaving Akira standing alone.

_Damn it! Now I have to drag this thing along with me…_

* * *

…_ngh…_

…_This seems strangely familiar…_

_I'm in the infirmary again, aren't I…_

Kuno started slowly stirring again, quietly mumbling as his surroundings became clearer. The last thing he remembered was Elena talking to him, but then he just blacked out.

"Oh my god! Kuno! Are you okay?!" Elena ran up to Kuno, who was still completely clueless to what had just happened.

"What…just…"

"I don't…you were just sitting there, and then…you just…I don't know! Some sort of seizure or something?!"

"S-Seizure!?" _Seizures were on listed as side effects on the bottle, but…I can have them for as long as four days…_

…_I really can't do this…_

"Elena…what time is it?"

"…Around eleven. You missed the night announcement. You were out for a couple of hours…Eiko came over here and helped you out, but she left a few minutes ago."

"Ugh, at this rate, I should just stay in the infirmary, shouldn't I."

"Well…I don't know…"

"These seizures are gonna last for, well, probably a few days, and I'm pretty sure my legs still aren't working. At this point, there's nothing that either of us can do."

Kuno sighed heavily, fed up with all of the shit he was going through. He was unconscious throughout an entire day, he missed an important fight that drove everyone apart, he was gonna be stuck in a wheelchair for an unknown amount of time, and he would be having frequent seizures…

He was also worried for Elena, who was losing sleep over Kuno's condition. It seemed as if she cared way too much about him, since she hadn't left his side for the past two days, making sure that he stayed alive.

"I'm just so sick of this…I can't do this much longer. Yeah, I'm not gonna die, but I'll be stuck like this for a while…"

"I feel so terrible. Really, I do. Especially since all I can do is watch over you…I'm really useless in this situation, aren't I…"

* * *

_Thanks to that bear, I'm banned from going into my room. To make thing even better, I can't even stay in the same room for more than a day! I can't just casually walk up to someone and ask to sleep on their floor…_

Ryota was stuck in the hallway, unable to figure out if he could find a room to sleep in. He couldn't be in Masaru's room again, and pretty much all of the girl's rooms were out of the question. He wasn't sure if anyone else would let him in, especially after the fight.

"Damn this," he muttered to himself, aimlessly pacing back and forth.

He was startled when he heard someone walk by him.

Ryota couldn't see who this was, however, because the lights were all turned off.

"I get stuck under a ceiling fan for the whole freaking day…_the whole freaking day…_"

"Akira? Is that you?"

"Well, duh. Who the hell are you?"

"It's Ryota. So they got you down from the ceiling fan?"

"Yeah. But it's still tied to me, and I've been dragging it around for a long time."

"I'd help you out, but I can't really see you that well…"

"Hmph. Whatever. I'm just looking for my room."

"…Speaking of your room-"

"No."

"Damn it…"

"If you can't find a damn room, then just take an empty one."

"Uh, what do you mean by that?"

Ryota couldn't see, but Akira was gesturing towards two of the rooms in the hall. "Y'know, the dead people's rooms. The stuttering girl and the acting guy. Just use one of theirs. It's not like you have to ask anyone or anything…"

"I dunno. It seems kind of disrespectful to them, if you ask me."

"Fine, do whatever the hell you want. Just don't use my room. Got that?"

"I guess."

Ryota could hear a door open and close, which meant that Akira had left him alone in the hallway, still unable to find a room to sleep in.

The last thing he wanted to do was sleep in Paige or Ryunosuke's empty rooms, but that would have to be his last resort.

_What to do now…_

_I got it. The first door I touch is the one I'll knock on. Maybe they'll understand how desperate I am…or something like that._

For about a minute or two, Ryota tried feeling around for another door. At that point, he didn't care whether it was a girl's room or not.

_Door…door…door…_

_Aha! Here's a door._

*knocknocknocknocknocknocknocknock*

The door swiftly flew open, almost hitting Ryota's face in the process. He couldn't tell who the person in the room was, though.

"_What_…"

"Hey there, whoever the hell you are! Listen, I kinda need a place to sleep, since that bear banned me from my room, so…can I sleep on your floor? Please?"

"I can't help you with that…"

"Huh?! Why not?"

"…"

"Is this even your room?!"

"…_I _sleep on the floor…"

"Ugh. Whatever. Thanks anyways, I guess."

The door loudly slammed shut, which left Ryota trying to look for another door.

_Maybe if I just go to the door next to this one…Hopefully they're a more rational person than whoever that was._

*knocknocknocknocknocknocknocknock*

Ryota patiently waited outside of the door for a few long seconds, waiting for the door to be opened.

That's when a very distinct voice rang through the hallway.

"Upupupu! Mr. Suzuki, I wouldn't go in that room if I were you!"

"Great. Now the bear's talking to me," Ryota sighed, leaning back against the wall closest to him.

"Don't be stupid, Mr. Suzuki! Why the hell are you knocking on the door to your own room? You're not allowed in there for a _loooooooooong _time, so go find another place to sleep talk and stuff!"

"…Can I at least know where I'm going? Just, like, turn the lights on or something. I'm blind right now."

"…"

"Are you there, bear?"

"…"

…_Whelp, he's gone for good. I'm not gonna get anywhere with this whole damn thing, am I. _

…_So this one's my room, huh? And who's next to me again? On this side…I think that's Eiko's room. Yeah, not a good idea after what happened yesterday. And then on the other side…Isn't that Masahide's room? Well, that didn't sound like Masahide on the other side of that door. It must've been that girl who he hangs out with all the time…_

* * *

_Well, I believe that my plan has failed…_

_It's now the seventh day…and my first effort to kill him was unsuccessful._

_If only I looked at the poison I grabbed, then maybe our situation would be different._

_It's a good thing that he doesn't remember exactly how it happened. If he did, then I'd be in a lot of trouble with that boy…_

_He's probably stuck in the infirmary now…_

_I looked at the side effects afterwards, and there was a whole lot of paralysis that could happen to him. There's a possibility that he could start having out-of-control seizures, which would be an absolute delight to witness._

_Maybe all of this will drive him to suicide, who knows…_

* * *

**Fun fact: I have just been informed that Akira is actually 5 feet and 1 inch tall.  
I'm so unprofessional...  
**_**THE POLL IS STILL OPEN! IT MAY HAVE AN EFFECT ON THE NEXT CASE, SO GO VOTE!**_**  
****Happy despairing~!**


	16. A Fatal Mistake

**THINGS BEFORE THE CHAPTER STARTS:**

**-Honest mistake on both of our parts. Akira is actually 5 feet and 1 inch tall. (I'm not that good with the conversions, so…)  
-Thanks to Nemris for the nice review! :)  
-Akira x Ceiling Fan is now canon, thank you, Asian Mangoes.  
-When we get to 100 reviews, I'll pretty much start screaming.  
-That feeling when you start shipping all of these fictional characters that aren't even yours (0.o)  
-(edit on 6/11/15) In the middle of this chapter, I started getting writer's block, and I'm not sure if it shows or not. Also, at the time I'm writing this little message, a little personal ditty just happened, so sorry if my writing's a little rusty. :/  
-HAPPY DESPAIRING~!**

* * *

*bzzzzt*

"Good morning, students! It's seven in the morning! Time to wake up! Let's all strive to do our best today!"

*bzzzzzt*

_I really hate my life right now…_

Who could blame Kuno for his thoughts of hatred? Over the past few days, a whole bunch of horrible things had taken place.

Of course, this chain of bad things started on the third day, when both Paige and Ryunosuke were killed. That was hard for everyone, but it wasn't the end for Kuno.

On the fourth day, right before the night announcement, somebody was attempting to kill Kuno by poisoning him. He had no idea who, which made things even worse. This took him out of the game for a rather long time.

On the fifth day, which he was unconscious through, there was apparently a huge fight. This so-called fight was so terrible that it drove almost everyone apart. In short, it ended with almost all of the students locked in their rooms, two of the students with severe injuries, and one of the students tied to a ceiling fan.

On the sixth day, it was sort of a miracle that Kuno woke up that quickly. However, since he missed the big fight, he was unaware that everyone was extremely salty that morning. Things got even more horrendous, though, on that very night. He made the mistake of reading the side effects of the poison. He was undergoing one of them, since he couldn't walk, but a few minutes later, he had a serious seizure.

It was then the morning of the seventh day, and the last thing Kuno wanted to do was suffer through it.

The only sliver of sunshine that he had came in the form of Elena Luz Grey, the Super High School Level Ringleader. The loyal and perky girl had never left his side during the whole ordeal, and Kuno couldn't thank her enough for sticking with him through it.

She was there with him in the infirmary, and it seemed like she hadn't slept for the whole night.

Like she had on the first two occasions, Elena let out a happy squeal when she saw Kuno wake up, alive and well.

"Kuuuuno! I'm glad you're finally awake!" she exclaimed, hovering over the broken student.

"Same here…" Kuno abruptly sat up, and sighed in relief that his upper half wasn't paralyzed as well. "Um, did you get any sleep, Elena?"

Elena shook her head, her huge smile on her face. "Nope! I was making sure you were okay the whole night! Just in case you started spazzing out again, of course."

"You didn't need to do that. I'm sure I would've been fine…"

"But I didn't want to take any chances. Last night was absolutely terrifying for me…You just went unconscious again, and then you started convulsing really badly…And to think that it might just keep happening to you."

"Hopefully, they don't last for the full four days. I just couldn't live with that…I'm having trouble with living like this, too."

"Don't worry, sweetheart, I'm sure you'll get better soon enough! You'll be walking again in no time!"

"Considering how much my luck has turned south, that's kind of a stretch." Upon saying that, Kuno expected Ace to barge in at any moment.

"Don't be such a downer, Kuno," Elena said, her lip in a pout. "Once we get everyone back together again, everything's gonna be back to the way it was! Everyone'll be all happy and willing to talk to each other!"

Elena straightened up, facing to exit to the infirmary. "We should go and see if anyone else is gonna go to the cafeteria. Right, Kuno?"

"Sure. I guess." The last thing Kuno wanted to do was be helplessly wheeled around, but that was his only way of actually navigating the school.

* * *

When Kuno and Elena got to the cafeteria, there was a whole different group than there was yesterday. Sure, Pyonpyon-King was there again, but they didn't really contribute to anything.

Aside from Kuno, Elena, and Pyonpyon-King, there were only three others there. Those three were Akira, who still had a ceiling fan tied to her, Eiko, who looked weirdly similar to her old self, and Natsumi, who was drinking bubble tea while trying her best to hide her face.

Eiko, upon seeing that Kuno was alive, was the first to speak. "Kuno! I'm so happy that you're okay! Are you alright?" she cried, scurrying up to the wheelchair-bound student.

"About as fine as a guy in a wheelchair with uncontrollable seizures is," Kuno muttered, looking at the ground.

"Oh, I was _really _scared when I saw the condition you were in! It was a good thing that Elena came and got me to help. I know a thing or two about seizures, and that one was pretty bad."

Eiko, Elena, and Kuno went over to where Eiko was originally sitting. They discussed the things that happened on the fifth day, since neither Elena nor Kuno was present.

"The fight? Ugh, that was horrific," Eiko groaned, cracking her knuckles. "A lot bloodier than it needed to be, if you ask me. I mean, it was only two of them, but…still…You guys are lucky that you missed it."

"Lucky that they missed it?" Akira said from across the room, making her presence known. "It was a whole bunch of fun, if you ask _me_. Everyone here's such an idiot. It just baffles me."

"Says the one who's tied to a ceiling fan," Natsumi remarked snidely, her face still covered.

"Well, at least I'm not idiotic enough to pick a fight with a _boxer_. Who the hell does that?!"

"I don't regret a thing that I did."

"So why are you trying to hide your face from everyone? Huh?!"

"…"

"As I thought." Akira stood up from her seat, the ceiling fan clanging to the ground. "If you excuse me, I'm gonna go and waste my precious time somewhere else."

Akira strutted out of the cafeteria, the ceiling fan making a horrible sound as it was forcefully dragged against the floor.

_It looks like Akira is back to what she used to be…not absolutely horrifically rude, but just the right amount of arrogance and name-calling._

_Everyone is saying that things got worse, but to me, it looks like everyone is getting better. Well, with the exception of a few. Natsumi and Kiyoshi were pretty beat up, I haven't seen Ace in what seems like forever, I'm a complete mess, and Elena's losing sleep over me._

_Now I wonder where everyone else is…I'm starting to think that I should go check up on Ace. Chances are that if he's been gone for that long, he's probably up to no good._

* * *

**DAY: 4****TH**

**LOCATION: KUNO OKURA'S ROOM**

**TIME: ?**

_*knock knock knock*_

_*door opens*_

_Kuno: Yes? Is there something you need?_

_XXX: Actually, there is! You left this in the cafeteria, and I just came to bring it to you. We don't want anyone losing anything, now, do we…?_

_Kuno: You didn't have to bring that. It's just a glass of water. Wait, did I even have a glass of water earlier?_

_XXX: I found it where you were sitting, so I assumed that it's yours! So here I am! Will you accept it now, please?_

_Kuno: …You're acting weird. Weirder than usual._

_XXX: Whaaaaat? Me? Oh, don't be a silly little lad! I am acting completely normal and average, like I usually do!_

_Kuno: But you _aren't _normal or average._

_XXX: Aw, so flattering, Kuno! Now, take your water!_

_Kuno: I think I'm good-_

_XXX: Pwease?!_

_Kuno: Did you just say 'pwease'? What's going on with you?!_

_XXX: I assure you, dear friend, I am acting completely normal and not out-of-the-ordinary in any way! Be a good boy and drink your water! Dehydration isn't very fun, Kuno._

_Kuno: …Uh…Are you gonna leave, or…_

_XXX: Once you be a good boy and drink your water, I'll leave you alone! Go on, now! Don't be all dehydrated!_

_Kuno: I'll drink it in my room. Can you leave, please?_

_XXX: I'm going to WATCH you drink it!_

_Kuno: If that's what it takes for you to leave, then…jeez, you're acting really oddly. _

_XXX: This is who I am, Kuno! _

_Kuno: …Okay, I drank some. Are you gonna leave now, or what?_

_XXX: Just a moment! I wanna see how this ends!_

_Kuno: 'How this ends'? What do you mean by-_

_*thud*_

_XXX: _That's _how it ends. G'night, Kuno! *sigh* I really hope that you never wake up…but if you do, it's great that you won't remember how this all went down! Gyahahahahahaha!_

* * *

*knock knock knock*

"Please answer…please don't ignore me…" Kuno mumbled to himself as he sat in front of Ace's door.

Kuno didn't know whether or not it was a good idea to check up on the gambler. Sure, he hadn't seen him for almost three whole days, but Ace wasn't really someone that you could actually have a real conversation with. Then again, Ace had no idea that Kuno was back in consciousness, so maybe it would lighten his spirits to see him alive.

*knock knock knock knock knock*

"Please, just open the door…"

Kuno could suddenly hear Ace's familiar, and still rather unsettling, voice from the other side of the door.

"Haven't all of you garbage cans tormented me enough?! The last thing I want to do is look down upon your hideous faces! Now scram!"

…_What did they do to him to make him act this way? _Kuno thought, struggling to think of a reply. _Yeah, he calls everyone garbage, but…they 'tormented' him? What does that even mean?_

*knock knock knock*

"You're all just jealous of me! All of you insignificant, useless, unworthy, _unlucky _pieces of shit don't even deserve the right to look me in the eye! Now _leave me alone_!"

_Jeez, what did they do to him…_

"Ace, can you open the door? Please?"

"…State your name."

"Uh, it's Kuno. Can you open your door?"

"…"

"H-Hello?"

Ace's door quickly opened, which revealed the gambler. His expression seemed somewhat relieved, most likely because Kuno was there.

"Okura-sama?! You're alive?!"

"It seems so. I'm not at my best, though…"

"Oh, _that _I can tell. As I can recall, you aren't usually in a wheelchair…why are you in a wheelchair, then?"

"It's a long story. I don't even know most of it, actually. All I know is that someone poisoned me, I was out for a while, and one of the side effects of the poison was paralysis, so…here I am."

"I'm very glad that you weren't as unlucky as to die. That would be very unfortunate for the both of us…It's a good thing that you're here. I was about to lose my mind with the rest of those trash bags. You're the only one that I can actually tolerate among them."

* * *

**DAY: 5****TH**

**LOCATION: LEVEL B1 INFIRMARY**

**TIME: 9:45AM**

_*knocknocknocknocknocknocknocknocknock*_

_Elena: …Yes?_

_*door opens*_

_Elena: A-Ace? What are you doing here?_

_Ace: …_

_Elena: Well?_

_Ace: …Is he okay?_

_Elena: Are you talking about Kuno?_

_Ace: *sigh* Is there anyone else that's near-death in this room?_

_Elena: You don't have to be that rude about it, bub._

_Ace: Just answer my question! Is he okay or not?_

_Elena: I…um…_

_Ace: What?!_

_Elena: …I'm not sure…I just found him like this earlier, so I brought him here. D-Don't worry, he isn't dead! He's just out of it, that's all. But I have no idea when he'll wake up…_

_Ace: It better be fucking soon!_

_Elena: Well how am I supposed to know if it'll be soon or not? I don't even know what's wrong with him!_

_Ace: …This is all _your _fault! He's dead now because of you!_

_Elena: !_

_Ace: Don't look at me like that, you trashy bitch! What if he's out for good?! If you pieces of garbage weren't so fucking ignorant, then we wouldn't be in this damn situation! And sitting there isn't gonna fix anything!_

_Elena: Ace, please! You're being really irrational!_

_Ace: Irrational? Me?!_

_Elena: Yes, you. First off, Kuno isn't even dead! He's just unconscious for the time being!_

_Ace: He could be dead soon, you never know…_

_Elena: Stop thinking like that! He'll be awake soon! That's something I'm positive of._

_Ace: Oh, please, you don't know that._

_Elena: …And second of all, I'm only here to see if he wakes up or not! If he…y'know, dies or something, I'd want to be by his side. He can't just die alone! So just leave us alone, please! All of this is just getting to that twisted head of yours._

_Ace: I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not twisted at all, thank you very much._

_Elena: Whatever! That doesn't even matter. Can't you just leave already?!_

_Ace: …_

_Elena: Why are you even here in the first place?!_

_Ace: …I just wanted to see if he was okay. Apparently, looking out for the only person I actually _like _here isn't important._

_Elena: Just go. I'm not in the mood for you right now._

_Ace: Who knows, maybe all of us will be lucky enough to witness you being the next victim._

_Elena: …_

_Ace: Of course, a trial would need to be held for my crime…But if Okura-sama doesn't wake up, maybe they wouldn't be able to figure me out, right? _

_Elena: Please…stop…_

_Ace: I mean, he's the only one out of all of you bastards that actually has a brain that functions properly. And then, I'd be able to leave all of you for dead…_

_Elena: …_

_Ace: Wouldn't that be just amazing?_

_Elena: …Why are you doing this?_

_Ace: Oh, that's easy. Because it's fun._

* * *

"…Why are we here again?"

Those were the most prominent words that were bouncing around the walls of the cafeteria.

All of the students, excluding one of them, had received a mysterious letter under their door. This letter stated that all of them had to report to the cafeteria for a 'Super Special Secret Meeting of Utmost importance'. No one knew what this meant, but everyone who got the invitation went there, in fear of what would happen if they didn't.

"Yeah, why are we here?"

"Is this another one of Monokuma's motives or something like that?"

"I really hope it's not…"

"If it is, I fucking swear to god, I'll kill that bear."

"Do we all have to murder each other again? I'd kinda rather not…"

Suddenly, the sound of someone clearing their voice could be clearly heard throughout the room. They stood up on the table, trying to get everyone's attention.

"AHEM!"

Everyone in the cafeteria turned to Elena, who was desperately waving her hands in the air.

"Ahem! So, it seems you all got my invitation! That's nice, isn't it?"

"Oh great, the perky one sent us here…" Akira muttered with annoyance, rolling her eyes. Kuno noticed how she was still tied to the ceiling fan, but he already knew that it would be a death sentence to call her out on it.

"Yes, I am aware of my said 'perkiness', thanks for reminding me," Elena remarked sarcastically, sounding quite annoyed. "Aaaaanyways, I called of you here just for one simple favor! You see, apparently, a couple of days ago, there was this big fight or somethin' that I wasn't aware of. I don't want to get into details about that, but…You guys are all here because I want you all to become friends again! It's not any fun around here when everyone's holding grudges against each other. Can't we all just apologize and move on with our lives? Please?"

…

…

To Elena's dismay, the room stayed unsettlingly silent.

"C'mon, guys! Don't be all down in the dumps! Can't you all just get along?"

…

…

"Ugh, this is helpless! …Can someone at least start some sort of conversation? That would be nice, y'know…I'm waiting…"

Elena was practically begging at this point, almost feeling driven to get down on her knees and desperately yell at her oblivious students.

"You know what happens when you're all mad at each other?!" she asked the crowd of students, flailing her arms in the air. "Yeah, you get all vulnerable! And then, when we're all about to turn on each other, when we're all at our weakest point, y'know what'll happen? _That bear _is gonna notice, and then we're gonna get another one of those goddamn motives, and then people are gonna start murdering each other again! Do you want that to happen, guys?! Do you?!"

The students, instead of giving her an actual reply, were all appalled that she would bring something up like that, especially doing it so forcefully.

"…I-"

And then…everyone figured out what was about to happen.

"Upupupu! Thanks for the idea, sweet cheeks!"

Monokuma popped up in front of the students in a flashy and flamboyant manner. "You're right about that, Ms. Grey! It _has _been a while since I gave you bastards a motive, hasn't it?!"

"…" Elena just stood there, frozen in terror. She was still comprehending all of the hell she had just raised, when in reality, she just wanted everyone to get along.

Giving people ideas for murder was _not _going to help them get along at all.

"Gyahahahaha! You all shoulda seen the look on your faces when I came in! It's absolutely priceless! Anyone got a camera?"

"Hey, bear! We don't have any time for any more of these motives, okay?!" Eiko yelled, her voice cracking. "However torture-inducing it may be, I'm positive there won't be any more people dying around here!"

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that, Ms. Watanabe! As I recall, the first time you said it, someone got murdered within the same day as when I presented the motive! And on top of that, some of you were planning to murder, even though you didn't get to finish the job in time!"

"But ever since that whole thing with…with Paige and Ryunosuke…no one's even thought about murdering anyone! Your motive isn't gonna change anyone's mind!" Eiko was enraged that the topic of murdering came up again, and it was noticeable by the way she spoke to Monokuma.

"…I don't think so! Are you blind, Ms. Watanbe?!" Monokuma retaliated, throwing its paw into the air, attempting to make a fist. "Preeeeeettttty sure that someone here has some murderous intent!"

"I…I d-don't know what you're t-talking about, bear…" Eiko stuttered.

"Sure you do! Just take a look at your fellow classmate over there!" Monokuma whipped his body around and turned to Kuno, and then pointing to the crippled student. "Ya see Mr. Okura right there?"

"…"

"One of you bastards tried poisoning him a few days back, remember?! Now he just kinda sits in a wheelchair like the idiot he is. Upupupu!"

Monokuma gleefully skipped over to Kuno, who was too tense to say a single word. The bear hopped up onto his shoulder.

"…D-Don't touch him!" Elena shouted, angrily stomping over to where the bear was.

"On the fourth night, one of Mr. Okura's so-called 'friends' decided to waltz on over to his room and slip him some poison! Unfortunately, the poison they used wasn't fatal in the slightest! It just knocked him out for a while, that's all. It's too bad that he woke up too soon…Anyways, now he's got all of these jacked up side effects to deal with! Oh, who would _do _such a twisted thing?!" Monokuma explained in a snide tone, patting down Kuno's hair.

"Please stop! You're gonna hurt him!" Elena exclaimed with concern, about to pull the bear off of her friend's shoulder.

"Just try and touch me, Ms. Grey! You know that action is against the school rules, and it would result in punishment!" Monokuma reminded her, his red eye flashing. "If Mr. Okura wants me to stop, I allow him to just pull me off himself."

Kuno, who was extremely uncomfortable with the sadistic bear pounding on his head, was attempting to pry the bear off of is shoulder.

Of course, right at that moment, it seemed as if the full-body paralysis had kicked in.

"Aw, what's the matter, Mr. Okura? Are you stuck?" Monokuma asked, taunting him.

…_Fuck._

_Apparently, this means that I can't even move my mouth, so I guess all of these screams of hatred just have to pile up. That's fucking amazing, isn't it._

Monokuma stepped down from Kuno's shoulder and landed on the floor. "You see the suffering that this poor boy has to go through?" Monokuma questioned the students, gesturing towards the motionless student. "Thanks to that poison one of you guys slipped him, he'll be stuck like this for…well, who knows how long?! That's the fun of it! Upupupu!

"Hey, did Kuno just…freeze?" Masahide asked, worried about his friend. "Is he just frozen like that?"

"Bingo! One of the side effects was full body paralysis! The poor bastard can't even open his mouth! What a shame…" the bear replied sarcastically, looking down at the ground. "It's a good thing I know who poisoned him, and I'll have to give them a time-out…"

Elena perked up at that statement. "You…know who did it?"

"Yup! And I'm not serious about the whole time-out thing; I was just being all dramatic. I actually have to applaud them on following my orders!"

"…YOU'RE ORDERS?!"

"…Oops. Shouldn't've said that out loud, hehe…my mistake! Okay, let's pretend that never happened, awright?!"

"I'm not just gonna _ignore _that!" Elena snapped, her face turning a dark shade of red. "You literally sent someone to go kill him?!"

"…Jeez, it sounds so negative when you put it like that. But let's just say that I'm disappointed that they didn't even make an effort to look at the label! How stupid on their part!"

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT! TELL ME WHO DID THIS TO HIM!"

"…Uh, hey! Look over there! A shiny thing!"

"STOP THAT!" Elena was unbelievably close to tearing the bear's head off, but the only thing holding her back was that if she tried, she would be punished.

"*sigh* Fine, I'll give you a teensy weensy hint, how about that?" Monokuma cleared its throat, and then continued, "The person who did it is in this room, alright? Can you chill now? There are some chill pills in the infirmary, I think…"

…_Doesn't that only eliminate one person?_

"Ms. Grey, please take your seat! That attempt of violence is not welcome in a school environment!" Monokuma scolded, sounding like he was imitating someone.

Elena, still fuming, started hesitantly walking back to an empty seat, trying to create distance between herself and the others. After all, she was technically the cause of Monokuma's appearance that night.

"Ahem! As I was saying, before I was interrupted ever-so rudely, it's been such a long time since I gave you guys a motive! Isn't now a great time for that?"

The cafeteria stayed silent, no one wanting to respond.

"…I'll take that as an astounding YES! I agree, honestly, I'm so bored! The most intense thing that's happened after the trial was that huge fire in the rec room, and that was merely caused by an idiot with a microwave and a muffin! If that's the highlight of my day, there's gotta be something missing around here. And that missing thing is your guys' drive to brutally murder each other!"

"…Please, don't do this…" Sugita begged quietly, starting to become even more uncomfortable with her surroundings.

"Oh, but I will! You guys wanna have some fun? Then I'll give you some damn fun! This motivation is gonna be so much fun for all of you!"

Monokuma waddled over to the center of the cafeteria, drawing all attention to himself. "You guys got some deep and dark secrets, right?" he asked, lowering his voice. "Simply just spreading them around would be too boring, and besides, it's already been done! Boy, did I get a kick out of that one, a while back…Anyways, yeah, so you guys got secrets! Lucky for you, I already know all of them, and I know all of your weaknesses! So for my motive…"

The bear paused for a moment, trying to create a dramatic effect and suspense. "Ahem! Starting tomorrow, **all of you will be forced to expel every single one of your deepest darkest secrets! Even better, you'll be uncontrollably spouting your secrets…IN THE FORM OF A SONG!**"

…_Huh?!_

"That's right! You'll all be a part of a never ending musical, randomly bursting out into song and revealing all of those juicy secrets! And if a murder doesn't happen by the ninth day, you will be permanently stuck singing about your personal life to everyone! Oh, and the best part, there's a whole instrumental track that goes along with it! It'll be so damn fun!"

_For this very second, I'm glad that I can't open my mouth. Hopefully, I won't be able to move it all the way through tomorrow…_

_Because we'll all be trapped in a musical._

"Actually, since I'm feeling so fucking pumped up, why don't we start right now?!" Monokuma insisted, looking around with joy at all of the bewildered faces of the students.

Suddenly, some sort of instrumental track started playing…

And Monokuma pulled out a microphone for himself.

* * *

**Yes! I'm finally to the good stuff!  
The songs will all be revised versions of songs that already exist, most of them coming from real-life musicals. Before each song starts, it'll be stated what song it's based off of. That way, you can just listen to the song beforehand, so you actually know how the tune of the song actually goes.  
HAPPY DESPAIRING~!**


	17. Despair: The Musical

**Of course, before the chapter starts, there's some stuff I'd like to say:**

**-100 REVIEWS AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!**  
**-Yes, you're all right, Kuno is an absolute idiot. Shame on him.**  
**-I am aware of my fast updating. Hey, it's summer, and the most exciting thing I've done so far was eat some really good pancakes. I have a lot of time, usually during the night.**  
**-(edit on 6-16-15) Hehe…remember what I said about being back to my regular updating schedule? Looks like I was a little wrong about that. Well, I've been surprisingly busy lately, and I've been having writer's block on pretty much all of my stories. I apologize for this taking so long. It's better than that one time I left you guys hanging for over I week, I guess. I'll try to update more, just be warned that a lot of things just come up. (On that topic, I have sports-related stuff on some afternoons, and I have an upcoming thing on Thursday and Friday. Don't know how long they'll last, but I hope it's not too long.**  
**-(edit on 6-19-15) Well, I've done too much physical activity, and it is nearly impossible to move my legs. Aaaand I have a game tomorrow. I just need a break, eenngh…By the way, since my league is starting up again, this length of days between updates may or may not be frequent. Unless it rains, then we're good to go.**  
**-HAPPY DESPAIRING~!**

* * *

"…You're not going to sing, right?!"

The musical track suddenly ceased. Monokuma put down the microphone that he had held, looking at his students with sheer disappointment.

"I _was _gonna sing, but it looks like that's not what the people want!" the bear fired back, stomping its tiny feet ferociously. "You guys are so damn hard to please!"

…_Does it expect us to be happy that we're being forced into an eternal musical against our will? Even though it's pretty much impossible for me to do anything musical-related for the time being, I'm not pleased that everyone is being tortured in this way._

"Fine, FINE!" Monokuma shouted, interrupting Kuno's thoughts. "If you guys don't want me to sing a merry ol' song, one of you bastards can start the trend! So who wants to start?!"

The room remained silent, with no one wanting to break out into a song.

"Ugh, I need to do everything myself around here! I guess I have to choose someone!" Monokuma paused for a moment, putting his arm in the air, pointing at the crowd of students that surrounded him. "Eenie…meenie…miney…mo!" The bear pointed his paw at one particular student. "I choose you! It's a good thing at that, Mr. Okada! I haven't seen you do anything noteworthy in a while!"

"Huh?! N-NO!" Daichi stuttered. "I'm not gonna fucking sing for anyone!"

"…I wanna hear you sing…" Kiyoshi muttered jokingly.

"SHUT IT!" Daichi turned to the bear, who was giving him his usual sadistic grin. "I'm not singing, Monokuma!"

"Oh yes you are! I did the whole 'eenie meenie miney mo', and that took a whole bunch of effort, so you're gonna sing all of your fellow students a song!"

Before Daichi could respond to the bear, a different instrumental track started playing.

"I'm not singing! Get that through your thick skull!" Daichi abruptly rose up from where he sat. Before he could start his big musical number, he ran out of the cafeteria, the instrumental track disappearing along with him.

"Look what you did, bear. You made the poor guy run away," Kiyoshi said angrily, folding his arms.

"…Does that mean that you wanna sing next, Mr. Nakashima? Because I can make that happen!"

"…I never said tha-"

A loud and dramatic symphony of violins suddenly started playing, startling all of the students in the cafeteria.

"Upupupu! This is such a lovely song for you, Mr. Nakashima!"

"…Fuck this…" Kiyoshi got up and quickly walked out of the cafeteria. Just like it had when Daichi had left, the beautiful sound of violins had vanished.

"Aw…no one wants to sing on this wonderful night?" Monokuma asked the group, clearly discouraged by the students' lack of enthusiasm. "If that's the case, we just have to wait for the sun to come up tomorrow! Now off to your rooms you go, bastards! Upupu!"

Monokuma left the cafeteria, leaving the crowd of utterly bewildered students.

Both fortunately and unfortunately for Kuno, however, the full-body paralysis had finally stopped.

It was a good thing that it had lasted for such a short time, similar to how he was lucky enough to regain consciousness so quickly after being poisoned. He didn't enjoy that he was able to open his mouth again at that particular moment, since the chances were high that if he opened it, an instrumental track would start and he'd burst out into a song about his personal life.

*bzzzzzt*

"Attention, students! The time is now 10:00 PM, which means that Night Time is in effect. The doors to the cafeteria will be locked momentarily. Make sure to have a good night's sleep and prepare for tomorrow! Upupupu!"

*bzzzzzt*

"No, no, no, no, no…I didn't mean it…" Elena was still in shock at what she had caused, summoning the bear on a complete accident.

"Well, you can thank circus girl over there that we're trapped in a freaking musical!" Akira shouted angrily, glaring at the confused ringleader.

"Really, I didn't mean it that way! I didn't know he would come! I'm truly sorry, really! I'll do anything! I swear!"

"Hmph. Whatever, your self-pity isn't my problem. I just-…oh shit."

Akira suddenly stopped talking, looking up towards the ceiling. "…I can hear the fucking music starting…"

"Does that mean there's gonna be some sort of big group number or something?" Ryota complained. "I really don't wanna sing…"

"A group number?!" Akira raised her voice, straightening up. "_Hell _no. I'm not singing with anyone. I'm outta here!"

Akira ran out of the cafeteria as fast as she could, the ceiling fan that was being dragged on the floor slowing her down.

All of the other students, knowing that the last thing they wanted was a big group musical number, quickly followed Akira out of the cafeteria. Kuno, still not being able to move his legs, slowly wheeled himself out of the cafeteria.

Luckily for him, just as he exited the cafeteria, the room was locked, showing that night time was in effect.

* * *

*bzzzzzt*

"Good morning, students! It's seven in the morning! Time to wake up! Let's all strive to do our best today!"

*bzzzzzt*

Kuno's eyes slowly flickered open upon being woken up by Monokuma's usual morning announcement.

As soon as he sat up, there were two strange things that he noticed.

The first one, also being the better one, was that he could finally move his legs again. It appeared as if all of the effects of the poison were wearing off. It was a relief to him that he didn't have the need to be wheeled around everywhere, and he would finally be able to walk to places on his own.

The other thing that he noticed is what he was feeling. It wasn't sickness or nausea, nor was it nervousness. He couldn't explain the feeling in words. All that he could think of is that he had the sudden feeling that he had to burst out into song.

_I'm not looking forward to anything today. Sure, I don't need to use a wheelchair anymore, but then again, at any given moment, I could unwillingly be in the middle of a huge musical number. I wonder how everyone else is reacting to thi-_

*knocknocknocknocknocknock*

…_Why would anyone need me right now?_

Kuno reluctantly got up from his bed and _walked _over to his door.

"Who is it?" he called through the door, wondering why anyone would need him that early in the morning.

"Okura-sama! I need your help right now!"

…_Jeez…_

Kuno opened his door, revealing the luck-obsessed gambler. To his surprise, Ace actually looked like he was reasonably concerned with something. Kuno could see an expression of bewilderment in his eyes as he pleaded for his help.

"Ace? Are you okay?"

"If I was okay, I wouldn't be here!" Ace snapped. "I need you to tell me what's going on."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Last night, Okura-sama! I was just sitting in my room, minding my own business, and then I start hearing a bunch of trumpets! And before I know it, I'm singing about my entire backstory! Care to explain?!"

Kuno looked at him with confusion for a few seconds, but then it came to him.

_That's right! Ace wasn't there last night when Monokuma gave us the musical motive. It must've been strange for him to just randomly break out into a song about his personal life…But why does he need _my _help with anything?_

"You weren't in the cafeteria last night, that's why."

"Was I supposed to be in the cafeteria last night?"

"I don't believe that it was mandatory. Did you get an invitation for the big meeting?"

"Meeting? No, I never recall being invited to anything of those sorts. Actually, I've never been invited to anything…"

"…Anyways, if you came, you would've been there to hear what Monokuma's next motive was."

"There was another motive?! And I _missed _it?"

_Ace seems to be unusually angry at this. Sure, he missed the motive, but what is there to be aggravated about? Actually, I'm kind of glad that he wasn't there to hear the motive. Who knows what could have gone down with him around…?_

"So, the motive…" Ace continued, still quite frustrated about missing the important announcement, "Is a musical really that terrifying that it had to be considered as motivation for murder?"

"Well, it's kind of against our will, so we have no choice but to burst into a musical number whenever we hear an instrumental track. Of course, you could always run out of the room, but…We can't really get away from the musical itself."

"And everyone just sings about their secrets or something?"

"I think that's the case."

"Tch. I'm not interested in hearing any of those garbage bags get involved in a full-fledged musical. You can count me out, Okura-sama."

"You can't really just not decide to be in this whole musical thing."

"I believe I have that power. If I lock myself in my room for the whole day, no one will have to hear any of my big performances, and I won't have to hear any of theirs. It sounds like a good deal to me…"

"No one's stopping you, Ace."

"That's a good thing. I have no intention of socializing, or singing, with anyone here."

"…"

"Well, have a nice day, Okura-sama!" Ace said encouragingly. He proceeded to leave Kuno's doorway and make his way to the room directly across, quickly slamming the door. The distinct sound of a door being locked could be heard.

…_I guess I have to make my way down to the cafeteria, then. Chances are slim that anyone will actually be there, since they all seem to be pretty afraid of engaging in a song about their darkest secrets. _

_I'm not particularly thrilled about this, either._

_Who knows, maybe there's someone here who doesn't really have any secrets, or at least anything embarrassing or dark that's worth singing about._

* * *

Just as Kuno had expected, there was nobody in the cafeteria.

There was no _person _in the cafeteria, but there was someone of an unknown gender in an animal costume.

Pyonpyon-King, as it usually did every single morning, simply sat in the cafeteria alone, not doing anything remotely noteworthy.

"…Good morning, Pyonpyon-King," Kuno tried to say welcomingly, not knowing how to start up a casual conversation with the kigurumi.

Pyonpyon-King looked up at their fellow student and waved, its glassy red eyes twinkling.

"Say…Have you burst out into song yet? I know that you're mute or something, but maybe this whole motive is an exception to that…"

The kigurumi shook its head, signaling that it hadn't had a musical number yet.

"Good to be you, I guess. You don't have to worry about unwillingly telling everyone about your secrets and stuff…if you even have secrets, that is."

Pyonpyon-King didn't have its usual energetic reaction. All it did was eerily stare at Kuno, not moving in the slightest.

"Um…Are you okay?"

"…"

Before the strange silence between the two students could get any more unsettling, Pyonoyon-King stood up and walked out of the cafeteria, its emotion seemingly drained from its movement.

_Well…that's a strange way to start the day. I suppose it's better than the musical starting or a body discovery announcement going off, but it's still odd how it would just walk off like that. For the time being, there's nothing I can really do…_

As the kigurumi emotionlessly walked out of the room, two completely different students walked in.

"…Ugh, I didn't know that Kuno would be here…"

"Is that some sort of bad thing, Kiyoshi?" Kuno asked the pair, taking offense to Kiyoshi's rude comment.

"No, don't take it that way. We're just trying to find a place where we didn't think anyone would go," Daichi explained, also sounding quite disappointed that the cafeteria was somewhat occupied.

"And why is that?"

"…You know. The singing. Like I said yesterday, I'm not singing to anyone," Daichi said coldly, looking in the other direction.

"Anyone who isn't Kiyoshi, I assume?"

"W-Well…he doesn't count! He already knows everything about me anyways, so what's the point of leaving him with all of you?"

"It's not like I'm up for any musical, either…" Kiyoshi added. "And we thought that no one would be here 'cause everyone's usually here in the morning…right? Everyone's avoiding each other, anyway…"

Just as Kiyoshi finished his sentence, of course, another pair walked in.

"…Shit! What'd I tell you, Masaru?! There were gonna be people here!"

"Don't blame me. You suggested it in the first place…"

"That doesn't mean anything!"

"It kinda does."

"So…you guys are here for the same reason, I bet?" Kuno asked Ryota and Masaru, who were still bickering.

"Because we thought no one else would be here? If that's the correct answer, then yeah," Ryota answered, rolling his eyes. "Then I guess we were wrong."

"I hope all of us being here doesn't trigger a big musical number or something like that," Daichi muttered, facing the entrance to the cafeteria. "I guess I have to make sure that no one else comes in…if that's the case."

…_Does more people really trigger a song to start?_

"I don't think that's necessary…It's unlikely that anyone else is gonna come in," Kuno pointed out. "It doesn't seem like everyone had the same idea, so…"

Before anyone could respond, _another _pair walked in.

"Darn it! I thought it would be empty!"

"…You're an idiot…"

"Well _sorry _if I wanted to avoid being in a freaking musical _and _I wanted food at the same time! I can't help who I am!"

"…You can help being an idiot…I think…"

Masahide and Haniji entered the cafeteria, arguing about the pettiest of things, as usual. They also had the same mindset as everyone else who had previously went to the cafeteria, thinking that everyone would be avoiding it.

"Nice job making sure no one else comes in, Daichi…" Kiyoshi said teasingly, softly laughing to himself.

"What are you guys doing? Is it some sort of intervention?" Masahide asked the group, sitting at one of the tables with Haniji.

"From what I know, I don't think it's an intervention," Kuno replied. "But we're all trying to avoid the big musical, if I'm not mistaken."

"Not working so well…for me, at least…" Haniji said, twirling her paintbrush in between her fingers. "I already sang a whole song…and it was rather displeasing…"

"For me, too. I was forced to listen to the whole thing!" Masahide added.

"Are you saying…I can't sing?"

"I'm saying that you should stick to painting. Just don't try anything else, and you'll be fine."

Before the two young students could continue their aimless arguing, it wasn't another pair that had appeared, but it was something quite worse.

Music had filled the cafeteria.

* * *

_The master wants me to kill…_

_But I don't think it will take much longer for one of the other guys to snap._

_After all, being trapped in an eternal musical _is_ a living hell._

_If I were to kill…who would be my victim?_

_Certainly not the espionage, my efforts were unsuccessful the first time, and failure is not an option at this point._

_Alas, I will do anything for my master. I breathe to serve their every need. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be how I am today…_

…

_Why am I thinking these things?_

* * *

"…Thank god I got out in time…" Kuno muttered to himself, leaning against the entrance door to the cafeteria.

Luckily, the seven students that were in the cafeteria had managed to leave before their big musical number could start.

Most of the students that were in there had scattered off at that point, probably locking themselves in their rooms. After such a close encounter, it was hard not to start hiding.

Kuno, however, was probably at his most chill that he had been in a while. Unless he burst out into some solo song, he was completely safe where he was. It was highly unlikely that he would get murdered at that moment, since the area was so open around the cafeteria.

Kuno also didn't really have any reason to be utterly horrified by the concept of the musical, either. Sure, it was getting tiring to constantly run away from wherever a musical track started, but he didn't really have anything that was too dark to hide. Well, there was one thing, but it wasn't worth murdering one of his friends for.

But just as he was starting to feel better about the whole situation, one of his fellow students walked in.

* * *

**TRACK 1: EVERYONE HAS A REASON TO BE REALLY MISERABLE  
(To the tune of 'It Sucks to be Me' from Avenue Q)  
****SUNG BY: VARIOUS**

Kuno: *spoken* Good morning, Sugita!  
Sugita: *spoken* Hi, Kuno.  
Kuno: *spoken* How are you?  
Sugita: *spoken* …y'know…  
Kuno: *spoken* What's the matter?  
Sugita: *spoken* Do I really have to explain?  
Kuno: *spoken* Oh, I'm sorry…  
Sugita: *spoken* Me too! I mean, look at me! I'm such a mess, and I'm thinking…ugh.  
Kuno: *spoken* What?  
Sugita: *spoken* No, it's nothing…  
Kuno: *spoken* Aw, it's okay…

Sugita: Before we got here, they thought I would be-  
Kuno: *spoken* What?  
Sugita: My parents thought I'd be great academically.  
Kuno: *spoken* Well…  
Sugita: But now I'm seventeen and as you can see…I'm not.  
Kuno: *spoken* Um…  
Sugita: Oh well…it sucks to be me!  
Kuno: *spoken* Aw…  
Sugita: It sucks to be me!  
Kuno: *spoken* No…  
Sugita: It sucks to be heartbroken and dumb and not how I should be…it sucks to be me.

Kuno: *spoken* You think your life sucks?  
Sugita: *spoken* I think so!  
Kuno: *spoken* Well, I have problems too…

Kuno: I'm pretty average, like everyone said…  
Sugita: *spoken* You are.  
Kuno: *spoken* Thanks.  
Kuno: But I've been thrown into some chaos instead! Somebody poisoned me and they want me dead! So I've…been on the edge…Ugh! It sucks to be me!  
Sugita: *spoken* Me, too!  
Kuno: It sucks to be me!  
Sugita: It sucks to be me! Being Sugita-  
Kuno: It's hell.  
Sugita: My best friend is dead!  
Kuno: I'll never get well!  
Both: It sucks to be me!

*Ryota and Masaru enter*  
Sugita: *spoken* Hey, Ryota, Masaru! Can you settle something for us? Do you have a second?  
Ryota: *spoken* I don't wanna sing…  
Kuno: *spoken* Whose life sucks more: Sugita's or mine?  
Ryota &amp; Masaru: *spoken* Tch…Ours!

Ryota: We've been together…  
Masaru: We're close as people can get.  
Ryota: We've been the best of friends-  
Masaru: Ever since the day we met!  
Ryota: So he knows lots of ways to make me really upset!  
Masaru: *spoken* Wha-  
Ryota: Oh, every day is an aggravation!  
Masaru: Come on, that's an exaggeration!

Ryota: All of my life you've been nothing but unfair!  
Masaru: You're such an idiot that no one on earth can compare!  
Ryota: And this is why that every moment we share…is hell!  
Masaru: Same with you! That's why I'm in hell too!

Ryota: It sucks to be me!  
Masaru: It sucks to be me!  
Kuno: It sucks to be me!  
Sugita: It sucks to be me!  
All: Is there anybody here it doesn't suck to be?! It sucks to be me!

*everyone starts skipping in a circle*  
Kuno: Da da da da da!  
Sugita: Da da da da da!  
Masaru: Da da da da da!  
Ryota: Da da da da!  
Kuno: Da da da da da!  
Sugita: Da da da da da!  
Masaru: Da da da da da!  
Ryota: Da da da da!

*Akira enters*  
*skipping in a circle ends*

Akira: *spoken*: What are you guys doing?!  
Sugita: *spoken* Singing about how our lives suck!  
Akira: *spoken* _Your _lives suck? Am I hearing you correctly? _Ha!_

Akira: I grew up poor as hell and this is who I am. Ever since I got here…that's when despair began! Now I'm ruined and tied to a ceiling fan! This sucks…My life really sucks…Especially with you guys…Especially with Kuno, who's an asshole…and I'm still tied to a ceiling fan!

Akira: It sucks to be me! It sucks to be me! I say it really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really sucks! It sucks to be me!  
…

*Elena enters*

Elena: *spoken* Uh, excuse me? Sorry to interrupt this musical number, but I've been looking for you guys!  
Akira: *spoken* Why the hell are you here?!  
Elena: *spoken* Well, I was going to come and apologize for what I did, but I guess it's too late for that…but you guys seem fairly content. Oh, and look, Kuno's not in a wheelchair!  
Sugita: *spoken* You're not the one who needs to apologize. It's all that bear's fault.  
Elena: *spoken* Really? Thanks!  
Sugita: *spoken* Yeah, damn that Monokuma!

*Monokuma appears*

Monokuma: *spoken* I'm coming! I'm coming!

Elena: *spoken* Oh my god!_ You're _here now?!  
Monokuma: *spoken* Yes I am!

Monokuma: I'm Monokuma, everyone's favorite bear! I'm black and white and super tight, I bring you all despair! Now I'm here, and I have really good news to share! Wanna hear? It's really important! And it concerns you!

*song suddenly ends*

* * *

"Wait, what? There's news?" Sugita asked the bear, her tone full of concern.

"Upupupu! That's what I said! Hey, nice song by the way! It didn't finish, but it was nice!"

"Can you just tell us the fucking news, bear?" Akira asked impatiently, her hand placed on her hip.

After a few seconds, Monokuma responded, "Yes, of course! Allow me to do it in the form of a song!"

"NO!" everyone shouted in unison, their eyes widening in fear of yet another musical number.

"Aw, come on! Don't you guys want me to make up for yesterday night when I didn't get to sing?"

"No! We're kinda glad about that!" Ryota snapped, fed up with the bear and his habits of making everyone miserable.

It was like what they had just sung about, expect worse.

"Oh, fine! Really, you guys are so hard to please! …Now that I think of it, that's the same thing that went through the mind of the student that I just punished…aw well, life isn't fair!"

* * *

"FOR THE LAST TIME, I AM _NOT _GONNA SING FOR ANYONE!"

At this very moment, Daichi was completely fed up with his situation. He had been ridiculed several times for refusing the offer to have a big musical number, to the point where he had locked himself in his room.

Kiyoshi, however, was desperately trying to coax his friend out of his locked room, but to no avail.

"…Daichi-"

"_What?!_"

"You don't have to hide in your room…it's just a song…"

"Sorry that I'd rather not tell everyone about my life in the form of a damn song! Those people don't have any right to know anything else about me!"

"…Kinda harsh, if you ask me."

"I never _asked _you."

"Well, there's not much that you really have to hide from anyone, anyway…"

"Y-Yes there is! And as long as I lock myself in here, I don't have to sing it all to anyone!"

"Well I'm not leaving until you come ou- …hey, do you hear that piano?"

"P-Piano? I don't hear any piano…"

"Pretty sure it's coming from your room, Daichi…"

"W-What?! Well…then…go away! You're not listening to me sing, got that?!"

Despite Daichi's rather harsh warning, Kiyoshi didn't budge from his position at his friend's door. "…Nope, I'm not moving…"

"I swear to god, Kiyoshi. Don't do this."

"…"

"_Please _get away from the door."

But before Kiyoshi even had the chance to react, Daichi started his big musical number through the door.

* * *

*bzzzzzt*

"Ahem! AHEM! Will any student that is currently NOT singing a song please report to the empty room on the underground level one? Thank you! Upupupu!"

*bzzzzzt*

* * *

After a few minutes, nearly all of the students, except for three, were in the empty room, anxiously anticipating what Monokuma had in store for them.

The first thing that all of them saw was an enormous splatter of blood on the floor and on the walls. It was quite a disturbing sight for them, even though some of them unfortunately knew what had happened there.

A student had been punished.

In front of the large blood splatter, everyone's favorite black and white bear popped up, looking unusually more joyful and full of glee.

"Upupupu! As you can see, something awfully _despairing _must have happened here! You can tell by how much blood there is! I mean, look at this room! It needed a splash of color in the first place, but I was thinking more of a beige-ish tone…"

"Can't you just fucking tell us what happened?!" Akira snapped, getting clearly more frustrated than usual. "Yeah, someone got punished, but who? And _why_?"

"Well, look around you, sweet cheeks! There are eleven of you bastards in here right now, and you could imagine which two are in a big musical number and which one clearly wouldn't be singing at all with anyone! Oh, it's a shame that we had to store their body in the morgue…what a pity…"

"Wait, there's a morgue…?" an indistinguishable voice from the crowd of students asked.

"Yes, yes, but it's off-limits for now!" The bear waddled over to the wall with the largest splatter of blood, casually leaning against it. "But for me, it was really fun! I mean, smashing the ever-loving crap out of whoever was in that animal costume? That was an absolute blast! Ya see, that's what rules are meant for! They're meant to be obeyed for a reason! And this? All of this blood and stuff? _That's _what happens when you don't follow the rules! Upupupupu!"

"Um…may I ask what rule Pyonpyon-King broke in order to be punished?" Kuno asked, still shaken from the unsettling amount of blood.

"Yes, you may!"

"…"

"Go ahead, ask, Mr. Okura!"

"…What rule did Pyonpyon-King bre-"

"It's really quite idiotic, how they did it, I mean. Breaking that security camera in the hall and then running away into this room, trying to avoid being caught…Boy, that gave me a good laugh! Aw man, you should've _seen _me handling that huge wrecking ball! Surprisingly, I'm kind of good at it! Didn't damage any of the walls…I was spot on with WHAMing that character so many times!"

"…You didn't have to go into such detail…" Sugita muttered, uncomfortable with the scene that lay in front of her.

"Wait, I gotta question!" Masahide suddenly blurted out, waving his arm in the air. "Does the kigurumi get a trial? Y'know, since it's all dead and stuff?"

"…What kinda stupid half-assed question is that?!" Monokuma shouted back, annoyed with the incompetence of his students. "You already know how they died, so what's the point? So basically, anyone who gets punished doesn't have the right to a trial."

Monokuma hopped back to the center of the room, his face lighting up.

"You guys are free to leave now! Go back to the room where you were in and sing to your heart's content! Come on, now, move it!" The bear perked up, as if he had remembered something. "Oh, I almost forgot! Anyone who isn't Ms. Watanabe is free to go! Thank you!"

"Aw, why me?!" Eiko said, sounding deflated as she watched all of the other students leave.

"…What are you doing with Eiko?" Natsumi asked before she left the room, stopping in the middle of the doorway. "It better not be anything imperiling to her…"

"It's nothing! Just leave!" Monokuma called to the sniper, laughing to himself as he watched her walk out of the room.

* * *

…_I'll be brand new…_

_Brand new tomorrow…_

_A little bit…tired…_

_But brand new…_

* * *

…_Shit…_

_Am I in the infirmary…_again_?!_

_What could've happened this time…I wonder…?_

_Did that poison not completely wear off?_

_Ugh…And there's someone else in here, too…_

_It's most likely Elena, considering all of the past events-_

"You're awake?"

Kuno abruptly sat up in the bed of the infirmary, still utterly confused on why he was there again. However, this scenario was different, since the person in the room with him clearly wasn't Elena.

"D-Daichi…? What are you-"

"Hehe, strange seeing me here, isn't it. You were expecting the ringleader, I assume?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, I'd think that if you were here, then Kiyoshi would be here, too."

"…He's not." Daichi averted his gaze away from Kuno, looking at the ground. "Not dead or anything, just not here."

"Oh. Was he a victim of one of Monokuma's abductions? I believe they've happened twice, so I wouldn't be surprised if-"

"No, he's still around. Just not with us, presently. Probably locked in his room or something."

"Do you know why, then?"

"I'd rather _not _have a question and answer session with you right now about this."

"Sorry. I'm just…why am I even here? I don't think that the poison should've lasted this long…"

"That's an easy one. What's the last thing that you remember?"

Kuno thought hard for a moment, puzzled with Daichi's question. _The last thing that I remember? Did I, like, lose my memory or something?_

"Uh...Monokuma told us that Pyonpyon-King was punished, and then I left. That's all I can really think of…"

"Wait, what?! That thing was punished?! I didn't know that!"

"Yeah, I don't remember you being there…neither was Kiyoshi, I believe. I think that someone was gonna tell you guys, but I don't really remember if that ever happened."

"That explains something, then."

"Explains something? What does it explain?"

"After you left, I guess, you came to my room. I would think that you were going to tell me that Pyonpyon-King had been killed, but you didn't quite get to that part."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Uh, well…You broke out into a song, and then started doing all of these dance moves, and then you bashed your head into the wall and fell unconscious. You probably lost your memory from that…"

"Wait, I sang a song? And then danced to it?!"

"Tap-danced, to be precise."

"Oh, god…" _I sang a whole song in front of Daichi…and then tap-danced to it? And then I bashed my head into a wall? Well, I have to ask him…_

"Um, Daichi? What was I singing about?"

"…"

"Daichi?!"

"You know your own secrets. I don't have to repeat it to you, since that's probably the only one you actually have."

…_Unfortunately, just as I thought. I was singing about-_

*bzzzzzt*

"Attention, students! The time is now 10:00 PM, which means that Night Time is in effect. The doors to the cafeteria will be locked momentarily. Make sure to have a good night's sleep and prepare for tomorrow! Upupupu!"

*bzzzzzt*

"Jeez, I was out for that long?"

"Yeah. You hit your head pretty hard." Daichi turned to face the door, standing up from where he was sitting. "Well, I'm going back to my room. Don't really care if you stay here or not, but…bye, I guess."

Daichi sternly walked out of the infirmary, leaving a confused Kuno alone in there.

…_There's no real point to staying here for the night. I think I should go back up to my room. Before I have a whole solo infirmary-bound performance, at least._

_Hopefully, no one will be dead by the time I get up…_

_But if no one is, then we'll be stuck in a musical forever._

_And after that whole thing with Daichi…I really don't want that to happen. So I'm torn…between having one of my friends die and being trapped in an eternal musical._

* * *

*bzzzzzt*

"Good morning, students! It's seven in the morning! Time to wake up! Let's all strive to do our best today!"

*bzzzzzt*

As soon as Kuno opened his eyes, something felt unusually off.

There wasn't anything in particular he could say about what didn't feel right, but there was still an odd feeling that was lingering inside of him.

…_Don't tell me…No, it can't be. There hasn't been an announcement, right? People are always up early, and they'd be walking around…so no one's dead…It's impossible._

* * *

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

* * *

Kuno arrived in the cafeteria, as he usually did every single morning. What was different from every morning, aside from Pyonpyon-King not being there, was that only one of his fellow students was there.

"Sugita! Good morning," Kuno called to his pink-haired friend, who was silently sitting at a table with her back turned.

"Hm? Oh, hey, Kuno," she greeted, sounding quite unenthused. "Sorry, I don't feel very well…"

"No, it's fine. Actually, same here. I've been feeling off since this morning."

"Yeah! Don't know what the heck it is. I must be sick or something…maybe some sorta sickness is going around…maybe musical sickness? I dunno."

As soon as those words came out of Sugita's mouth, Kuno immediately knew what was happening. The realization hit him like a hammer to the back of the head.

"Hey, uh…Sugita?"

"Yes?"

"Uh, well, I don't really know how to put this…do you have the, um…do you have the sudden urge to, y'know…burst out into song?"

Upon hearing that, Sugita's expression quickly changed from confused and innocent to an expression of sheer terror.

"…Kuno? Do you think that…"

"I think I'm starting to. He said that the musical would stop as soon as someone-"

Kuno's words were suddenly interrupted by a faint yet bloodcurdling scream.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Sugita quickly stood up from where she sat. "I think that was our cue…"

"It sounded like it came from downstairs…let's go!"

Kuno tried to drag Sugita out of the cafeteria and to the lower level, but she wouldn't budge.

"Sugita, please!"

"No…it can't be…"

"I'm sorry, but we have to go! Someone down there is probably…y'know…and we have to go! There'll be a trial, and an investigation, and…"

"I don't _want _a trial. No one else is gonna die…that's what they said…"

"…Just come on!"

Kuno tugged harder on the volley ball player's arm, eventually causing her to unwillingly give in and follow him to the underground level.

* * *

As soon as Kuno and Sugita's feet touched the floor of the underground level, a fellow student of theirs came sprinting towards the pair.

"G-GUYS!" Masahide screeched at them clearly winded from running. He ceased once he was in front of Kuno and Sugita. "There's a…a…nnngh…"

"Masahide?! Are you alright?" Kuno asked, worried about what state the boy was in.

"N-No…what'd you think? There was so much…so much…b-blood…I'm gonna…faint…"

"Blood?" Sugita questioned alarmingly. "Does that mean…"

"I-I couldn't tell who it was…they were c-covered in it…aw jeez, I'm really outta breath…"

"Where was it, Masahide?"

"The…observatory…" he choked out, pausing for breath between every word. "L-Let's…go…"

The three students quickly ran over to the observatory, where Masahide had claimed to see something covered in blood.

Whether they liked it or not, they all knew what was coming. They didn't know who it was, how it happened, when it happened, or who did it…but one of their friends was murdered.

Once they got to the observatory, Kuno laid eyes on exactly what Masahide had told them he had seen. Sugita had stayed in the hall, not wanting to see what was in the observatory.

There, in the far back end of the observatory, was what everyone was dreading.

*bzzzzzt*

"Ding dong dang dong! A body has been discovered! Following a brief period of investigation, we will commence our school trial!"

*bzzzzzt*

The body was unidentifiable from where Kuno was standing. They were covered from head to toe in their blood, and a massive amount was spilled out onto the floor. They were laying face-down on the ground, and their body was sprawled out into a rather awkward position.

Kuno had to get a fair amount closer to the body to be able to tell who it was, however. The last thing he wanted to do was see which one of his dear friends had been brutally killed, but in the back of his mind, he knew that they had to have another trial.

He slowly got closer to it, the foul stench of blood getting worse and worse. Once he got as close as he could get, feeling close to collapsing at the scene, Kuno shakily flipped the body over, so it was face-up. From there, the identity of the body was clear.

"K-Kuno?" Kuno could hear Sugita's footsteps behind him, signaling that she had entered the room. "Who…"

Kuno straightened back up and shifted away from the body, which he had left face-up. This allowed both of the other students that were in the observatory to see who the unlucky student was.

Masaru Nakamura had been killed.


	18. The Investigation (Around the School)

**BEFORE THE CHAPTER STARTS (as usual)  
-Thanks for all of the reviews! I really appreciate how active you guys are being throughout this whole thing, despite my unusually slow updating.  
-I'm not sure how long the trial portion will be. It will probably be either two or three chapters, since I don't want to drag it out for too long. The previous one might've been too long, so I'm not sure what the length should be.  
-Sorry if this chapter seems rushed, I was kinda trying to get it out as fast as I possibly could. It wouldn't be right to leave you guys hanging for a whole week just so you could get an investigation chapter. Sure, they're really important, but they're not supposed to be overly lengthy.  
-(edit on 6-24-15) WHELP I'M SUUUUUUUPEEEERRRRR BUSY! That's right, now that I'm officially playing on two teams, I'm REALLY REALLY REALLY busy during the evening. And I'm usually in the 'writing mood' in the evening, and I always update around 6:30 where I live, so that's problematic. I'm just letting you guys know that if the chapters are late, it's because of basketball.  
-(I'm also doing a Pokemon Black 2 Nuzlocke right now, and all I want to do is win. I have three badges so far, and I've lost four pokemon, including my starter. It's pretty sad that I'm relying on a Magby to carry my team…WAIT NEVERMIND IT'S A MAGMAR NOW I'M HAPPY)  
-(edit on 6-25-15) And now I'm being forced to do my summer work…which isn't due until the first day of school, which is in late August, so I'm trying to get all of it done early so I have more time to write. But with all of this basketball and school work and stuff, it'll take time for me to write the first part of the trial. So bear with me, and I'll try to write them as quickly (but quality) as possible.  
-HAPPY DESPAIRING~!**

* * *

Someone had murdered Masaru Nakamura, and it was undoubtedly not Monokuma's doing, but that of a student.

The scene was quite disturbing to lay eyes upon. His lifeless body was unidentifiable unless it was turned face-up, due to the massive amount of blood that covered him. He was sprawled out into an odd position next to one of the back walls, which also had a significant amount of blood covering it. There were a few black-colored shards scattered around his body, but it was impossible to tell where those could have come from.

Kuno just stood there, unable to take his eyes off of his friend's brutal crime scene. Masahide was also still in the room, but he had fainted from looking at Masaru for so long.

Sugita, on the other hand, had frantically vanished away from the scene to get everyone else. That would be quite a hard job to do, since no one ever wanted to see another body again.

She also knew that she couldn't leave Ryota behind, even though she wanted to.

After a couple of long minutes, Sugita came back to the infirmary. All of the other students trailed behind her, quietly murmuring as they entered the room.

Once all of them had fully set foot in the infirmary, the murmuring turned into confused and worried shouting.

In the midst of the chaos, everyone's favorite black and white bear popped up.

"Upupupupu! Looks like that whole musical finally got into one of your idiotic heads! I have to commend whoever did it for this beautiful final product! I mean, look at all of this blood!"

"Stop it!" Eiko snapped, slowly losing calmness just by looking at the bear. "You're treating all of this like a joke!"

"Well, you can't ignore the fact that one of your fellow classmates did this, can you, Ms. Watanabe?"

"…"

"Anyway, after that minor setback, it's time to give you the MONOKUMA FILE TWO!" Monokuma pulled out numerous files from behind his back, similar to how he did when the students found the first body. "As they did before, these babies will give you some information about the death, just so you aren't all clueless during the trial! Which is being held soon, by the way, so you better get to investigating!"

Monokuma handed out the files, laughing to himself as he did so. "I'll leave the hard work to you! See ya later! Upupu!" After all of the files were out of his grasp, the bear disappeared, leaving the bewildered students alone at the dreadful crime scene.

…

"Well, we can't just stand here," Natsumi pointed out, breaking the silence. "We have to start the investigation so we know what we're doing during the trial."

Even though no one wanted to get remotely close to the scene, they all knew that the investigation had to start. Yes, one student had already fled the room, but they knew that they couldn't wait for them to return, since it was highly unlikely that they would.

Reluctantly, everyone slowly started moving around the room and began collecting information.

**INVESTIGATION START**

To start his period of investigation, Kuno first carefully looked over the second Monokuma file that he had been handed earlier on.

_Victim: Masaru Nakamura_

_The time of death was around 1:30am._

_The body was found in the B1 floor observatory._

_The causes of death were multiple severe blows to the head._

"This is all we get this time, huh," Kuno muttered to himself, disappointed at the lack of information that the Monokuma file had stored. _As I recall, Paige's had a lot more detail, such as where the body was actually killed and if there were any traces of other injuries. Maybe the bear is just trying to make things harder as we go on…Nevertheless, this is what I have to work with._

**TRUTH BULLET LOADED: Monokuma File #2**

…_I believe that the most important asset of the crime scene is the body…even though the last thing I want to do right now is look at it again, it's essential to look over him._

Kuno trudged over to his friend's lifeless body, which Haniji was thoroughly investigating by herself. He found it odd that she didn't seem to mind that she was beginning to get drenched in blood, but it wouldn't be the appropriate moment to ask her.

"Hey, Haniji. Did you find anything?" Kuno asked the painter, kneeling down to where she was. It was still incredibly hard to look at the state that Masaru was in, but he had to bear through it.

"…There's just a lot of…y'know, blood…" she replied. "And all of these random shards…don't know what these are…"

"Shards? Oh, yeah, I noticed those when I first saw the body. Do you have any idea of what those could be?"

Haniji didn't give Kuno a verbal response, but she just shrugged. She picked up one of the shards, which was stained in blood. "Kind of…strange…"

**TRUTH BULLET LOADED: Mysterious Shards**

"There's nothing else that's too off-putting about the body, I guess. Aside from the obscene amount of blood there is…" Kuno straightened up, preparing to walk off to his next area of investigation.

"Kuno…wait…" Haniji called, waving him over. "There's a thing…in his pocket…"

Kuno turned back around to face Haniji, who was unsettlingly up-close to the body. "Something in his pocket? …Why are you in his pocket?"

"…Just because…"

"…What is it, then?"

Haniji swiftly pulled a crumpled-up piece of paper out of Masaru's pants pocket, which was also heavily bloodstained. "Whatever this is…"

Kuno knelt down to retrieve the note, which Haniji willingly handed over. He tried his best to unfold it without tearing it apart, which was quite hard to do. Once he was done with that, he attempted to read whatever was contained on the note.

Due to the piece of paper being soaked in blood, it was almost impossible to read. There was only one particular word that stuck out, but aside from that, only a few letters were clearly shown. From what Kuno could make out, the note read:

_M-I-H-BS-A-RY-T-1:3-  
~-Y-A_

**TRUTH BULLET LOADED: Masaru's Note**

_Hmm…perhaps this was a note that the killer gave to Masaru? The word 'observatory' is pretty clear, and that's where the body was found…And I would assume that the numbers are 1:30, which was the time that Masaru was killed…_

_Wait, isn't that a name at the bottom…?_

Even though thoughts about the note were racing through Kuno's head, several other things about the scene were throwing him off track.

For example, in a far corner of the room, Kuno noticed a strange pile of a white substance. He cautiously walked over to it, knowing that it certainly wasn't there before Masaru was murdered, and maybe it contained some sort of clue to the case.

Despite thinking that it was some sort of huge clue, it wasn't. All that was in the corner was a large pile of what looked to be marble. It wasn't there before the murder, from what Kuno remembered. If it was, then someone would've surely noticed it when they were investigating this new floor on the fourth day.

**TRUTH BULLET LOADED: Pile of Marble**

_Most of the stuff that's been presented to me so far doesn't really give us any clue on who the killer is. The Monokuma File, a whole bunch of weird shards, a note, and a pile of rubble doesn't directly lead to one person in particular. Sure, I can tell that there's a name at the bottom of the note, but there's nothing I can do with them. Don't know where he went, but he's not here._

_Well, since there's some sort of theme with random things being found on the floor, maybe there's more to that. Who knows, maybe someone else will find somethi-_

"Yuck! What the hell is _this_?"

Kuno turned to Akira, who was holding up an unidentifiable wad of something.

"Akira, what is that?" Kuno asked the designer, once again knowing that the thing she held certainly wasn't in the observatory before.

"That's what I'm saying, spy boy. It's some kind of clothing, no doubt about that…" Akira began attempting to straighten out the piece of clothing, making faces of disgust as she did so. "Ew, there's blood on it!" She alarmingly threw the black garment on the ground, inching away from it.

"Well, what was it?"

"I don't know! Some kind of body suit!"

"A body suit?"

"Y'know, if you're so damn interested in it, maybe you should look at it instead," Akira groaned. She slowly trudged off to some other part of the observatory, seemingly bored out of her mind with the investigation.

It wasn't like she'd ever be much of a help, anyway.

After Akira's display of annoyance with the whole situation, Kuno bent to the ground and picked up the black wad of clothing.

As Akira had told him, it was covered in blood. It wasn't surprising, judging how much blood was already at the scene. It would be plausible for some of it to get onto the suit.

But as Kuno continued scanning the piece of clothing, after fiddling with it for quite some time, he discovered something that was probably vital information to the case.

There were two of them.

**TRUTH BULLET LOADED: Black Body Suits**

_I think that's about everything for this room. It's interesting what I found, but it still doesn't really specifically pull out a prime suspect._

_For example, I still have no idea what the murder weapon is, and I'm sure that that'll have a big part, since they probably tried to make it as obscure as possible. I don't think they would have made it on their own, similar to how Ryunosuke had, since I don't think there's anything that they can really use…_

_I'm definitely not going to have enough information for the trial just by staying in this room, so I think I should go investigate some of the other rooms. The first one I should go to, I believe, is the one where you could find the easiest way to kill someone…_

* * *

Just as Kuno had speculated, there was something in the infirmary that had to do with the crime.

Upon walking in, there was a noticeable huge mess in the room. A whole bunch of broken glass and spilled liquids were lying next to the far end of the medicine cabinet, where all of the poisons were located.

Standing next to the plethora of liquids and glass was Ace, who was poking at the colorful puddles with his red and black shoes. He immediately ceased once he heard someone walking in, but he lit up when he saw that it was none other than Kuno.

"Hello there, Okura-sama!" Ace greeted, smiling at the 'only person he could tolerate'.

"Hey. I see how you're…_amused_ by this stuff on the floor," he replied, gesturing towards the mess that lay on the ground..

"Oh, yes. It's quite interesting, all of this poison on the floor. Good thing it didn't damage my shoes…"

_So, the killer must have used poison in some way…possibly trying to weaken Masaru or something like that before they killed him? I'm not sure…_

"But Okura-sama, there was nothing about that garbage being poisoned on the teddy bear's file."

_He's _still _calling people garbage? Even right after he died…never mind that. _"Yeah, I know. But the bear could just be trying to make it more difficult for us to figure things out. There's no doubt that the poison was used in some way, though."

**TRUTH BULLET LOADED: State of the Infirmary**

"Did you notice anything else that was different about the infirmary, Ace? We could use anything that helps us find out who the killer is…"

"Hmm, not that I've seen. Well, not like I'd share any of it with anyone. We save those things for the trial, don't we? Besides, trash like them don't deserve to-"

"Okay, I'm gonna go investigate some other places. I don't mind if you tag along, I guess."

Ace's face brightened upon hearing that. "That would be nice, Okura-sama! Staying here wouldn't really get anything done."

With that, Kuno and Ace walked out of the infirmary together, walking to the next most suspicious place on that level.

* * *

Surprisingly, all of the blood that was in the empty room had been cleaned.

The day before, the empty room was soaked in blood, due to the fact that Pyonpyon-King had been punished. But during the investigation, the entire room was spotless, and it was almost unsettling how spotless it was.

Aside from the massive amount of blood being cleaned, there was something off about the empty room. Sure, it was still an empty room, hence the name, but the only thing that was in the room was broken.

That thing was the air vent on the ceiling of the empty room. The cover was barely hanging from the ceiling, due to it being forced open.

_I'm pretty sure that the entrance/exit to the vent wasn't broken like that before. I would assume that this was the killer's escape route or something, so they wouldn't leave any footprints. _

_Now that I think of it, there was a vent on the ceiling of the observatory as well. Not the scenery part of the ceiling where you could tell the time of day, but a different part of it._

_But wouldn't it be hard to get up there on your own?_

**TRUTH BULLET LOADED: Empty Room/Broken Vent**

"Okura-sama, what does this room tell us about the murder? 'Cause if it doesn't, there's no reason for us to be here…"

"Well, we can guess that they escaped through here, since going through the hall would leave their footprints."

"Heh, reminds me of those idiots from the first case-"

"Okay, next room!"

* * *

_I really hope that no one has suspected me yet…_

_I think it was a job well done, though. Not too much evidence that I left behind. _

_They'll never get it. They can't get it. Only one of them actually knows how to think, so there's no doubt that I'll be safe._

_As long as _they _keep their mouth closed, I'll be out of here in a flash._

_Now all we have to do is wait…_

* * *

It would be hard to investigate a room if it was locked.

This is what Kuno though as he struggled with the door handle to the TV room. No matter how hard he twisted and turned it, the handle wouldn't budge. Kicking the door down wasn't an option either, since it looked to hold itself together well.

"Okura-sama, I think it's locked."

"Don't you think I know that?"

"…If you knew, you wouldn't be continuing to try and open it."

Hopelessly, Kuno backed up from the door. "It's not usually locked, though. When I went in here the first time, I didn't need a key or anything to get in." Kuno took another glance at the handle. "There's a keyhole, too, so maybe the bear locked it…"

**TRUTH BULLET LOADED: TV Room**

* * *

Daichi wasn't one who enjoyed helping out in the investigations.

He preferred to just stand there and watch everything happen. He didn't want to get involved in the cases and end up like Sugita, who clearly still hadn't gotten over anything, or Masahide, who was still passed out on the floor.

Daichi cared about the murders, of course. He hated watching his friends die. However, that wasn't the main thought he had in his mind, for that spot was taken by trying to avoid Kiyoshi.

_I'm not really helping out with anything. I kinda just feel like I'm invading on something…I'm not, but it definitely feels that way. It won't make a real difference if I leave, anyway…_

With that in his mind, Daichi proceeded to walk out of the observatory, carelessly stepping over Masahide's unconscious body. Not long after, Haniji began dragging Masahide's body with her to the art room, since she didn't really want to investigate either.

Daichi thought that the only suitable place to be undisturbed and alone would be his own room, so he started heading in that direction towards the stairs.

Suddenly, while he was walking through the halls, he began hearing a very recognizable voice.

"Okay, it was Masaru…in the observatory…at one-thirty…and something about his head? Ugh. This is what happens when I try to be helpful. It doesn't work out…"

_SHIT!_

It was obviously Kiyoshi. Daichi knew that voice anywhere and that voice belonged to someone he was trying his best to avoid. With no intention to get involved with him, he darted into the nearest room.

Daichi found himself in the empty room, and he was surprised that all of the leftover mess from Pyonpyon-King had been cleaned up. Along with him in that room was Elena, who was staring off at the vent on the ceiling. It was odd how it merely hung from the ceiling, barely dangling from where it was attached.

Upon hearing him walk in, Elena was quick to greet the troubled mercenary. "Hiya, sweetheart! Whatchya doing in here?"

"Me? Oh, I'm, uh, just investigating. Around the…the school," Daichi stuttered, cautiously closing the door behind him.

"Where else would you investigate, sweetheart?" Elena chuckled at her own joke, then turning back to the broken vent.

"Yeah…So, uh, what's up with the, uh, vent up there?"

_Maybe if I can find something significant to present at the trial…I don't know, maybe Kiyoshi would-_

"That thing? Well, it wasn't broken like that before, I can tell you that much," Elena replied, interrupting his thoughts.

_I'm not used to this whole investigating thing…Hell, last time, I just stood there, being all pepper-sprayed…_

"Uh…is there, uh, anything I can, y'know, d-do?"

Elena looked at Daichi with puzzlement, confused by his question. "I don't know. I'm not really good at investigating, either…but we could try _together_! I could, like, boost you into the vent or something! There's no way I could fit in there…"

Daichi was a little skeptical about climbing into a vent, since he wasn't particularly fond of heights, but his new motivation prevailed, and he eventually complied.

"Sure, I guess…" Daichi was also a little concerned if Elena would be able to lift him into the vent, not to mention that he was over six feet tall and dubious of being able to fit into such a compact space.

Elena's face lit up. "Great! Get over here, sweetheart!"

* * *

Kuno and Ace arrived in the art room to continue investigating.

Haniji and Masahide were also in that room, with Masahide still lying unconscious on the floor.

"Hey, Haniji. Is there anything interesting in here?" Kuno asked the painter, who was standing next to her friend's lifeless body, looking down upon it.

"He looks so lifeless…even though he's still alive…" Haniji muttered, completely disregarding Kuno's question.

"About the investigation, I mean."

"The Monokuma busts…they're gone…" Haniji pointed to where the heads of Monokuma used to be.

Kuno quickly realized that the painter was right. Like most of the occurrences that had happened before, the busts had always been there and never disappeared from that spot.

"Oh…that's odd. Maybe the statues were used as the murder weapon."

_It's possible that Masaru could have died from being whacked in the head with the Monokuma bust. That would also explain the pile of marble in the corner…_

**TRUTH BULLET LOADED: Missing Monokuma Busts**

* * *

"How are you doing in there, sweetheart?!"

"I'm, uh, fine."

The cold steel vent was very compact, smaller than he had expected. He was crawling in the direction of the observatory where the murder had occurred.

_This better be worth it…I'm pretty high up, now that I think about it. I really hope that Kiyo-_

"SHIT!"

Daichi had almost fallen through the broken entrance of the vent. He was above the observatory, where the other vent was located. He backed up, only to find out that he had been on top of a blood-soaked piece of black fabric.

He picked up the piece of fabric. Blood was encrusted onto it, and he also noticed blood on a part of the entrance to the vent.

_This definitely has something to do with the murder…heh, I guess I kinda did something useful for once. Maybe Ki-_

"SHIIIIIIIT!"

The vent creaked for a brief second, and then Daichi fell through, about to thud to the ground from the high ceiling.

Fortunately for him, he didn't fall to the ground, but into someone's arms.

"Daichi?! What are you-"

"AH KIY- Oh, hey, Eiko…"

"Why were you in the vent?"

"Just, uh, investigating…around the school…put me down."

"Oh! Yeah, I'll do that." Eiko pulled her arms back, causing Daichi to fall to the ground.

* * *

Kuno and Ace had entered the lounge room, which neither of them had ever been in before.

It appeared to be in pretty good shape, with nothing looking out of the ordinary. Then again, he didn't know what ordinary was supposed to look like with the lounge room.

The things that filled up the room the most were a bunch of red couches and black tables. There was a bathroom on the far wall and a closet in the corner, which both looked pretty normal.

"This main part doesn't look suspicious or anything…" Kuno muttered, scanning the room.

"Okura-sama! Do your beautiful eyes not see that the closet over there is open?" Ace pointed out, turning to that part of the room.

"I guess you're right. I'm gonna go check that out…" Kuno walked over to the open closet, flipping on the light switch to brighten up the dim closet.

Unlike the rest of the room, the closet was a complete mess.

It was full of odd articles of clothing, most noticeably a bunch of body suits.

_Body suits…those were at the scene of the crime. Akira pointed them out to me, as I recall. And there were two of them, so…_

**TRUTH BULLET LOADED: Lounge Room Closet**

*bzzzzzt*

"Okay! Time's up! Will all students please report to the gym? Thank you!"

*bzzzzt*

_This is it…it's time for the trial. We have to find out who killed Masaru. And if we don't…_

_We'll all be punished._

* * *

All of the students had entered the gym, awaiting the bear's arrival.

Daichi had entered last, limping and shoving some sort of evidence into his pocket. It was strange how he and Kiyoshi weren't close to each other, since they almost always were. In fact, they stood on separate sides of the room.

Just by looking at him, you could tell that Ryota was emotionally wrecked. There was no particular expression on his face, he just stared off towards something no one but him seemed to see. Everyone knew better than to bother him, and surprisingly, Elena was keeping her distance from him.

And then, everyone's favorite black and white bear popped up.

"Upupupu! Here we are again! That musical must've gotten to you guys, and someone had to go and kill poor Mr. Nakamura! Now, once again, you should step back so you don't fall and die…"

Just like it had before Paige's trial, the floor of the gym had slowly opened up, an elevator rising from the depths.

"Okay, students! Just mosey your little asses down to that elevator and hop on in! You'll be transported to the court room where the _real _action happens! I'll see you guys there!" Monokuma disappeared from the gym as it usually did, leaving the students to file into the tightly-spaced elevator.

* * *

**Sorry this took so long to write…  
Thanks to my sister globalization, I could finally get this out. She's been a big help with this chapter.  
Sorry for not putting the lines the first time, hehe...  
HAPPY DESPAIRING~!**


	19. Trial of Truth: Part 1

**BEFORE THE CHAPTER BEGINS:  
-Thanks for all of the reviews! They really motivate me to keep writing, even when I'm not in the mood to.  
-I've come to the conclusion that this trial will most likely be only two parts, to make things a little easier and fast-paced.  
-Speaking of reviews…well, it's clear who you guys want to see more of. Don't worry, I have plans…hehe…**

* * *

Kuno stood on his podium, looking around at the scenery of the trial room. The spots where Paige, Ryunosuke, Pyonpyon-King, and Masaru used to stand were occupied by pictures of them with a red 'X' across their face. It made him uncomfortable to look at them, knowing that his deceased friends would never return, and all they had were those photos.

* * *

Monokuma: Now, allow me to begin with a short explanation of the class trial! *ahem* You students will use your time during the trial to try and figure out who the culprit is! Once you guys get a clear idea, you will cast your vote for who you think did it! If you vote correctly, the blackened will be punished! However, if you pick the wrong person, everyone except for the blackenedwill be punished! Let's begin!

**TRIAL IN SESSION**

Kuno: Okay, so what should we start with?

Akira: Wait just one second!

Kuno: …Again? Really?

Akira: Yes, _really_. I know who the killer is!

Masahide: Whoa, really? That was fast!

Haniji: You're an idiot…She obviously doesn't know…

Akira: Shut up! I know I'm right this time!

Kuno: Then do you mind telling us who it is?

Akira: Gladly! It was definitely **Ace**!

Ace: …

Natsumi: How did you come to that conclusion, Akira?

Akira: Just look at him! He's all suspicious and shit! He's definitely the killer!

Ace: …

Kuno: You can't just _guess _who the killer is, based on how they look. You have to have some sort of reason that isn't 'he's all suspicious and shit'.

Akira: Well…it's the beanie, that's what! It's really ugly on him! It doesn't even compliment his outfit!

Ace: Hey, it's a nice-ass beanie, you unlucky bastard…

Kuno: His beanie has nothing to do with whether or not he was Masaru's killer. Besides, he probably has an alibi. Am I right, Ace?

Ace: …

Kuno: Ace?

Ace: …

Akira: See what I mean? He's not even talking! If he had an alibi, he would've spoken up by now!

Natsumi: Once again, you bitching on about how Ace is the culprit, and with no evidence to back you up, is definitely quite suspicious.

Kuno: I agree; it makes you look more suspicious than Ace ever will be. Just because he isn't saying anything doesn't mean that he's automatically the killer.

Ace: …

Akira: Ugh…you guys are impossible! Can't you just accept the fact that he'll always be the most suspicious out of all of us?! And he's definitely the most likely to kill someone!

Ace: …I do have an alibi, you unlucky bitch.

Akira: Oh, _really_? Now you speak up?! Fine! If you have an alibi, fucking say it!

Ace: …I have one, I'm just not telling a piece of garbage like you.

Akira: THIS IS WHAT I MEAN!

Kuno: I think that's enough, guys. Accusing Ace isn't helping our case-

Masahide: Hey! That rhymes!

Kuno: …

Masahide: …Sorry. Continue, Kuno…

Kuno: Anyways, that's not going to put us in any given direction, so we should actually start considering our evidence that actually exists…So, again, what should we start with?

Eiko: Should we start with the murder weapon, like last time?

Kuno: That seems like a good start…

Natsumi: Well, it wasn't so blatant, like it was last time…and there's not much in the observatory that could be considered as a 'weapon'.

Elena: And the file said that he had multiple severe blows to the head…so what does that mean?

Masahide: It means that he got whacked in the head. Hard.

Eiko: But by what?

Kuno: …*thinking* _I actually have an idea on what could have been used…_

Akira: Isn't it your job to say all of the important stuff, Kuno?

Kuno: …I think I know what was used, and it wasn't something in the observatory.

Akira: What do you mean it wasn't something in the observatory?! The murder was in the observatory, so it had to be something from there!

Kuno: Not necessarily…Did anyone see the **pile of marble** in the observatory?

Sugita: Oh, yeah! I saw that! I didn't think much of it, though, since it's just a pile of rocks…

Natsumi: That could somehow be connected to the weapon used to kill Masaru.

Kuno: And I believe it was. Now that I think of it…it does tie in to another piece of evidence.

Haniji: …!

Masahide: Haniji? You…you okay?

Kuno: I have a feeling she knows what I'm talking about. Don't you, Haniji?

Haniji: Um…yes…?

Akira: So you're the killer!

Masahide: Stop it! Is this just a game of 'Let's Blame Haniji Even Though She Had Nothing to Do With It'? Again?!

Kuno: We're not throwing out any accusations, Masahide. Well, at least I'm not.

Akira: She knows something! Look at that face! That the face of a damn killer!

Haniji: …

Kuno: …As I was saying, there's a viable reason why she's a suspect.

Masahide: She's not! Stop saying stuff like that!

Kuno: Can you let me explain? Please?

Masahide: No! If it has anything to do with her, then I'm not letting you talk!

Natsumi: Let Kuno finish. He knows what he's doing, unlike you…

Masahide: I know what I'm doing! I'm protecting the only person here I actually _care _about from being accused of murdering someone! She'd never…

Kuno: Ahem. There's only one explanation of the pile of marble in the observatory. And that's because it **belonged to the Monokuma busts in the art room.**

Masahide: S-So? What does that have to do with her?!

Akira: Well, duh. She's the only one who's ever in the art room.

Masahide: That doesn't mean anything! Yeah, she's in the art room a lot, but that doesn't mean that she killed Masaru!

Kuno: It's still a possibility, Masahide. Unless she has an alibi…which I would like to hear, if she has one. Haniji?

Haniji: Ngh…It's not good…

Kuno: An alibi's still an alibi, even if it's horrible.

Haniji: I was…I was asleep…

Akira: Bull! That's absolute bull!

Haniji: …

Eiko: Akira, calm down! A lot of people were asleep during that time! Heck, I was asleep, too!

Akira: So you could've used that bust as the weapon, too, right?!

Eiko: I'm not saying that I'm the killer. I'm just saying that being asleep around one-thirty in the morning isn't a strange thing.

Sugita: Eiko's right! Almost everyone would be asleep around that time. Unless you were the killer, then you'd be up all late and stuff.

Masahide: Which she wasn't! She was asleep, I'm positive! 'Sides, if she went out that late, I would've known…

Natsumi: And why is that…?

Masahide: B-Because…She'd never kill anyone! Ever!

Akira: Oh, please! You're just covering for her at this point! Miss volley-bitch over there already failed with that, so we know exactly what game you're playing!

Eiko: Please don't start this…

Sugita: …

Eiko: We're supposed to be trying to figure out who the killer is! We're not here to blame Haniji, yell at Akira for making false accusations, or…whatever else you guys are doing! Let's just keep going with the whole murder thing, okay?

Kuno: She's right, we don't need any more of these pointless arguments.

Kuno: So where were we…we were discussing the murder weapon, correct?

Elena: And we know that it was that thing from the art room! And they killed him by whacking him in the head…and then what?

Natsumi: From the appearance of the observatory, we can assume that they somehow moved the rubble out of the way, as an attempt to hide the evidence.

Akira: Hiding it in a corner out in the open is pretty dumb, if you ask me.

Kuno: For once…I actually agree with Akira. It was pretty easy to notice, out in the open like that. Almost too noticeable…

Masahide: I TOLD YOU! She didn't do it!

Natsumi: Just because the weapon that was used came from the art room doesn't mean that whoever is in there the longest is automatically the culprit…but no one's out of the water just yet.

Masahide: B-But…okay, it wasn't me _or _Haniji!

Akira: Prove it, then!

Masahide: Okay! So, it can't be Haniji because, well…it just isn't. And it can't be me beca-

Natsumi: 'It just isn't' isn't enough to clear her of suspicion.

Masahide: Then, it can't be her because…Ugh, I don't know! I just know that it wasn't her, and she was framed! That's exactly how it went last time!

Haniji: …Does this look like the face of a killer…?

Masahide: Exactly! Look at that face! She wouldn't kill anyone!

Natsumi: …I'm going to completely disregard that. Anyway, it doesn't seem like we're going to get a lot of information from the murder weapon…and no one's too sure on what it is. I suggest we move on to something else.

Kuno: Yeah, maybe we can discuss something that we can actually use. Can you all tell us what you were doing around one-thirty, to see if we can spot a faulty alibi?

Almost Every Student: Sleeping.

Kuno: …Oh…Okay, then.

Akira: _Somebody _here's a liar…what about you, spy boy? What were you doing?!

Kuno: Same as everyone else, apparently. I was asleep.

Akira: *sigh* Great! That didn't help our cause. And we don't really know if anyone was actually asleep, either.

Masahide: I was-

Akira: SHUT IT! Jeez, you shouldn't have the right to speak at these trials. All that comes out of your mouth is nonsensical babble!

Masahide: …Uh, but what about the morning…?

Akira: What about it?!

Masahide: Y-Y'know, after three people who weren't the killer see the body, the announcement goes off and stuff. So…the three people who saw it aren't guilty, right?

Akira: …

Kuno: That's correct. The first three people to see the scene that didn't kill Masaru were the ones who triggered the announcement.

Elena: That makes things easier, I guess! So…who were the people, then?

Masahide: That's why I brought it up! I was one of them, I think. And then, uh, yeah, Kuno was there, too! And Sugita was there…and I guess the three of us were the ones that made the thingy go off?

Sugita: …

Masahide: Was I right? For once?

Kuno: I'd think so. We were the only three people in there that morning, so that's what probably happened…

Sugita: …

Akira: Aw, great. You broke the girl.

Kuno: Sugita? Is there something you'd like to sa-

Sugita: YOU'VE GOT THAT WROOONNNGG!

Masahide: Jesus Christ! Again?!

Sugita: …Sorry, I was building up the energy to do that. It takes a lot of energy.

Kuno: …I can tell. So we're wrong?

Sugita: Well, yeah.

Masahide: Dang it! I say something smart for once, and it isn't even right…

Kuno: But how is Masahide wrong? We were the only three in that room, and one of use must have triggered the announcement.

Sugita: Um…you're right about that. You were the one who made the thing go off, Kuno. But I didn't come in until _after _the announcement.

Masahide: You didn't? I'm positive you were there though!

* * *

**FLASHBACK**

_"Masahide?! Are you alright?" Kuno asked, worried about what state the boy was in._

_"N-No…what'd you think? There was so much…so much…b-blood…I'm gonna…faint…"_

_"Blood?" Sugita questioned alarmingly. "Does that mean…"_

_"I-I couldn't tell who it was…they were c-covered in it…aw jeez, I'm really outta breath…"_

_"Where was it, Masahide?"_

_"The…observatory…" he choked out, pausing for breath between every word. "L-Let's…go…"_

_The three students quickly ran over to the observatory, where Masahide had claimed to see something covered in blood._

_Whether they liked it or not, they all knew what was coming. They didn't know who it was, how it happened, when it happened, or who did it…but one of their friends was murdered._

_**Once they got to the observatory, Kuno laid eyes on exactly what Masahide had told them he had seen. Sugita had stayed in the hall, not wanting to see what was in the observatory.**_

_There, in the far back end of the observatory, was what everyone was dreading._

_*bzzzzzt*_

_"Ding dong dang dong! A body has been discovered! Following a brief period of investigation, we will commence our school trial!"_

_*bzzzzzt*_

**FLASHBACK END**

* * *

Masahide: …Oh! Pfffft, I'm an idiot.

Sugita: I was in the hall…b-because I didn't want to see what was in there. Kuno triggered the thing, and I came in after I heard it.

Elena: So…what does that mean?!

Akira: You guys are all idiots! It means that someone else saw it before those three dolts waltzed on in!

Eiko: So someone must have been up really early?

Natsumi: That could be true…but everyone just stated that they were asleep during that time.

Akira: And like _I _said, someone here's lying about what they were doing!

Kuno: But it shouldn't be hard to just tell everyone that they were the first person to see the body. It's not that big of a deal, if you ask me. So…is anyone going to speak up?

…

Kuno: Really, all you did was be the first person to discover the body. No one has to be secretive about this…?

…

Akira: Okay, fine! If these bastards want it the hard way, I can make 'em talk!

Eiko: Akira, please don't do anything stupid!

Akira: Shut it! I know what I'm doing! We just force some questions on the most suspicious guys, and one of them is bound to give me an answer!

Kuno: You really don't need to do that, Akira. I'm sure we can figure this out without going directly to drastic measures-

Akira: SHUT IT! Okay, who's first?!

Eiko: No one's first! Harshly yelling at people doesn't solve anything!

Akira: Yes it does! Okay, who here's the most suspicious…

Natsumi: You don't know what you're doing, Akira.

Akira: How about…YOU! The boxing guy!

…

Kiyoshi: …Huh?

Akira: You haven't said a damn thing this whole time! It's like last time…except you probably did it, didn't you?!

Kiyoshi: …Um…No, pretty sure I didn't.

Akira: PROVE IT!

Eiko: Akira, please! This isn't getting us anywhere!

Kiysohi: I was asleep, just like everyone else was. Is that enough for you?

Akira: …That's all I'm getting out of that guy.

Kiyoshi: Hey, but-

Akira: Next up…YOU! The boxing guy's friend over there! You haven't said anything, either!

Daichi: …Is it a bad thing that I spaced out?

Akira: You had something to do with it last time, so _surely _you had a part in it this time, too!

Daichi: Th-That's not the same! That has nothing to do with what we're doing right now!

Akira: Yes it freaking does! I'm pointing out the most suspicious people, and you're definitely the most suspicious!

Daichi: Ngh! That doesn't even make any sense!

Kiyoshi: …Hey, he didn't do anything, alright?

Akira: Oh, now you wanna talk?

Kiyoshi: Yeah, I do. He had nothing to do with it, so just lay off, okay?

Akira: DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!

Natsumi: See what we mean? Yelling at everyone isn't helping our case.

Akira: I'm getting somewhere, so shut it!

Akira: Next up…YOU! The victim's friend! You haven't said anything, either! That's because _you _did it, didn't you?!

Eiko: Okay, that's enough! Akira, you're not even helping in the slightest! Just leave Ryota alone, please!

Kuno: …*thinking* _…It's completely understandable why Ryota wouldn't be in the mood to talk. But…he has something to do with this case. I'm positive about it._

* * *

**NONSTOP DEBATE**

Akira: You people need to stop interrupting me!

Akira: As I was saying…he totally had something to do with the case!

Akira: Heck, he probably killed Masaru!

Eiko: No, he didn't! Ryota has nothing to do with this, I'm positive!

Akira: Oh, really? Well I'm positive that he did it!

Akira: He knows what weapon was used…

Akira: He was the one that was up so early…

Akira: He was the one who **got Masaru into the observatory!**

Kuno: Akira, I agree with that!

* * *

Eiko: W-What?! Someone's actually agreeing with her?

Kuno: All of Akira's yelling has finally come to something, and it's something that's true.

Akira: …Hmph. Shows you what happens when you think low of me…

Eiko: I don't think low of you! I don't think low of anyone! I'm just sure that Ryota had nothing to do with the murder!

Kuno: …Actually, he did.

Eiko: B-But-

Kuno: There was something odd about the scene…particularly with Masaru…Haniji, you-

Masahide: STOP ACCUSING HER!

Kuno: I-I'm not accusing her! She's just the one who found what I'm talking about!

Haniji: …I found something?

Kuno: Well, yeah. When you were investigating the body…

* * *

**FLASHBACK**

"_Kuno…wait…" Haniji called, waving him over. "There's a thing…in his pocket…"_

_Kuno turned back around to face Haniji, who was unsettlingly up-close to the body. "Something in his pocket? …Why are you in his pocket?"_

"…_Just because…"_

"…_What is it, then?"_

_Haniji swiftly pulled a crumpled-up piece of paper out of Masaru's pants pocket, which was also heavily bloodstained. "Whatever this is…"_

_Kuno knelt down to retrieve the note, which Haniji willingly handed over. He tried his best to unfold it without tearing it apart, which was quite hard to do. Once he was done with that, he attempted to read whatever was contained on the note._

_Due to the piece of paper being soaked in blood, it was almost impossible to read. There was only one particular word that stuck out, but aside from that, only a few letters were clearly shown. __**From what Kuno could make out, the note read:**_

_**M-I-H-BS-A-RY-T-1:3-  
~-Y-A**_

**FLASHBACK END**

* * *

Kuno: And if I'm not mistaken, from what I could read, if the note was clean, it would read, 'Meet me in the observatory at 1:30'. And at the bottom…Ryota's name clearly fits into that part.

Akira: He's the killer!

Eiko: No, he's not! H-He would never kill anyone, especially not anyone like Masaru!

Natsumi: That may be true, but he was definitely the one who wrote that note. Am I right?

Akira: Ugh, what's the point of even asking him?! He won't respond! He hasn't said a thing all day!

…

Kuno: Ryota, just confirm that you wrote the note, then we can move on.

Eiko: D-Don't pressure him! He doesn't have to answer if he doesn't want to!

Natsumi: That's utterly pathetic. Use your words, Ryota.

Eiko: N-Natsumi! Please…please don't be so rude to him!

Ryota: I-I…

Kuno: Hm?

Ryota: Y-Yeah, I wrote the damn note! So stop fucking asking me!

Eiko: …You did?

Ryota: …_That's what I just said._

Akira: I knew it! So _you _were the one who killed him!

Ryota: …You really think I did it, did you.

Akira: It's the only thing that actually makes sense, so yeah! I do think that you did it!

Ryota: _Well let me let you in on a little something, sweetheart-_

Eiko: O-Okay! I think that's enough! We know that Ryota wrote the note, but…what does that tell us?

Kuno: It may clear things up if you told us what the note was for.

Akira: Easy! It was so he could lure him in there and whack him in the head!

Ryota: …I wouldn't. Not even f-for an eternity of musicals, I'd n-never.

Kuno: So what was the note meant for, Ryota?

Ryota: …

Akira: As I thought!

Ryota: I-It's none of your fucking business! If it was, I'd tell you!

Kuno: That doesn't help…

Ryota: Then I don't know what does, o-okay?!

Natsumi: If you just tell us, we'll stop worrying about it, then.

Ryota: It's none of your business! I-It doesn't even matter! I just wrote it because I wrote it and th-that's that!

Eiko: Guys, you don't have to keep asking him if he doesn't wanna talk.

Akira: …

Kuno: …Fair enough, I guess. But if you wrote the note for him, then…were you the one who saw the body as well?

Ryota: …N-No…I had no idea…that…

Natsumi: So you forgot about your own note?

Ryota: …

Akira: That's just plain stupid! More stupid than Masahide over there!

Masahide: I haven't even said anything for the past few minutes! I at least deserve from praise for that!

Natsumi: …How does one forget about a note that they wrote themselves?

Ryota: …I…

Ryota: I really d-don't know, actually…

Akira: Man, it's really surprising how _braindead_ some of you guys are! Y'know, if you actually went to the observatory instead of forgetting about it, you could've, like, saved him or something! Fought the killer back or something like that! But you had to be an idiot, didn't you.

Ryota: I-I know…

Eiko: …So…does that mean that someone else saw the body?

Kuno: It appears to be that way. It was me, Masahide, and…someone else that we're not sure of.

Elena: Then why don't they just confess?! Like you said, sweetheart, all they did was see a body! It ain't that big of a deal, right?

Kuno: …I would think that it wouldn't be. But…if everyone is being so stubborn, there's only one thing that I can actually think of…and I have evidence for it.

Kuno: It's similar to something we all thought during the previous trial. Actually, the situations are really alike, if I think about it. So, if someone isn't telling us that they were the first to see the body, then the most plausible cause is that-

Sugita: Wait! No!

Kuno: ?

Sugita: N-No! It's not what you're thinking! There's no way!

Elena: …Am I the only one that's lost?

Masahide: I'm always lost, don't worry.

Sugita: No one would do such a thing! Especially two people…You're wrong!

Natsumi: Kuno…are you saying that it's the same thing that we suspected last time?

Kuno: Exactly. **Two people must have been working together **on this one.

Akira: Again?! And you'd think these people would be more original with how they murder.

Sugita: No, no, no, no, no! I refuse to think that it happened again! I thought we all learned our lesson here!

Akira: …Well, you were the one who helped that guy the first time, so you're the only one who actually learned something. And they're a hell of a lot better than you were.

Kiyoshi: *mutters* Bet she's not the only one who learned a thing or two…

Kuno: I know, it's hard to believe, but it's highly likely. There's also a lot of evidence that supports it, unlike last time when we just assumed because of the motive.

Sugita: No! There's nothing! No one worked together, you got that?!

Kuno: Why are you being so defiant?

Sugita: Because it can't happen again! No one here would ever do something like that!

* * *

**NONSTOP DEBATE**

Sugita: There's nothing that shows that two people carried out the murder!

Sugita: And I actually analyzed the evidence this time, 'cause I stuck around in the observatory!

Akira: So you weren't tampering with any of the evidence this time?

Sugita: …

Sugita: Anyway, yeah, I noticed the pile of marble, but I doubt that shows how anyone worked together.

Sugita: Neither does Ryota's note…

Sugita: Or the Monokuma File…

Sugita: Or that weird **wad of bloody clothing**…

Kuno: No, that's wrong!

* * *

Kuno: That wad of bloody clothing that you just mentioned, Sugita. Did you notice anything particular about it?

Sugita: It was bloody and black…and under one of the benches, but…what does that have to do with two people committing the murder?

Kuno: It wasn't just a wad of one piece of clothing. If I remember correctly, and Akira does as well, there were **two **of them.

Sugita: …W-What does that have to d-do with it?!

Akira: Well, _duh_. Did you see that disgusting amount of blood at the scene?

Kuno: Exactly; the blood had something to do with it. Like the last case, you would have gotten drenched in blood if you had to get close to Masaru in order to kill him. And judging by how much blood there was in the observatory, it would be impossible to not be covered in blood.

Kuno: Plus, those pieces of clothing were full-body suits, which came from the lounge room. They would have protected someone from getting completely covered in blood, no matter how much there was. And if there were two of them…that means that someone else must have assisted in killing Masaru.

Sugita: …UNTRUE!

Kuno: ?!

Sugita: That's _all _you have?! Just because of some damn body suits?!

Kuno: Sugita, why are you…

Sugita: I don't believe for one second that there were two people involved! Not after how disastrous the first damn trial went, it's impossible! Don't they know that it doesn't go well?!

Eiko: Sugita…please calm down! You're only doing this because you don't want anyone else to…to go through what you did…?

Sugita: …No one deserves to be punished! Especially when another person helped them with it and it's not entirely their fault!

Kuno: But it's undeniable that there were two people involved…and there's another reason why as well. And it has to do with how they left the scene…

Masahide: Uh…they didn't just walk through the door? Was there some special exit?

Kuno: I believe so. They had to have **used the air vent** to leave the scene. No one here is able to reach that height on their own, and the only way you could possibly reach the vent is to use another person to help you up.

Eiko: B-But that doesn't make any sense! They couldn't just leave? I mean, you just said that the suits would protect someone from being drenched in blood, and wouldn't they just have to take them off and then walk out?

Akira: Are you an idiot or something?! Those things were such low-quality pieces of clothing! They could have easily bled through.

Kuno: That's what I thought. Even though it could protect you from most blood, due to how thin they were, at least according to Akira, some of it would have bled through. And then, there would have been blood marks on the floor, specifically footprints.

Natsumi: And after the events of the previous trial, everyone knows how much footprints can give away.

Sugita: …

Eiko: Then did the person who, uh, 'helped' the culprit have to use the door?

Natsumi: If they were merely the one that helped, it would make sense for them to not get covered in as much blood as the true culprit.

Kuno: So it would have been safe for them to use the door…either way, the culprit is the one who escaped through the vent, with the help of their accomplice.

Masahide: Wait, so after they crawled through the vents, where'd they end up? I think it's impossible for them to climb all the way up back to their rooms…

Kuno: Based on what we found during the investigation - for those of us who were conscious – the only place that they could have ended up was in the empty room. Both of the entrances to those vents were broken.

Eiko: …There must have been something important in the vent, then!

Kuno: Something…important?

Eiko: Yes, there is! I remember that, near the end of the investigation, Daichi was in there for some reason. And then he fell. So there must have been some piece of evidence in there!

Elena: Oh, yeah, Daichi was in the vent! I helped him get in there.

Daichi: You didn't have to tell them about the whole 'falling' thing, you know.

Eiko: Well, at least consider yourself _lucky_ that you didn't fall to the ground and get hurt.

Ace: …!

Kuno: Was there anything in the vent, Daichi?

Daichi: Uh, nothing that strikes me as really important, but there was something. Some sort of piece of black fabric was torn off and stained in blood…there was also some blood near the entrance of the vent, as well.

Kuno: Near the entrance of the vent?

Daichi: Correct. Since it couldn't have come from the body suits, they must have cut themselves or something.

Kuno: Ah, that makes sense. That would also explain the fabric in the vent, since that could have also been cut by the vent.

Akira: Doesn't really fucking help! Almost everyone here wears something black!

Eiko: Speaking of things not helping…we still have no clue on who the culprit is. Yeah, we know how they left and that they had someone else help them and that they wear something black, but that doesn't really narrow anything down. The only one's we're completely sure about are Masahide and Kuno, since they were two of the three people to see the body.

Akira: Exactly! We don't even know what they used to whack him in the head!

Kuno: Yeah, I'm aware of that…But there are still a lot of things that we haven't even mentioned.

Kuno: For example, yes, the murder most definitely took place in the observatory, but there is a whole bunch of evidence outside of that one room. I'm sure that one of those rooms holds a clue to who the culprit is. Ace and I were investigating around those other areas, and we found a lot of interesting things. We've already talked about the art room, with the missing busts and whatnot, but I highly doubt that the bust is the murder weapon-

Akira: Hold up! Haven't we already established that it was?! Yeah, it was really damn noticeable, but it's the only thing that actually makes any sense!

Kuno: *sigh* I know, it looks like it makes sense.

Akira: That's basically what I'm saying! Jeez, you'd think a spy would actually be a little smart!

Kuno: …If you took one look at the body, you would know what I'm talking about.

Akira: …

Eiko: If the busts _were _used, wouldn't all of the marble be all over Masaru? I don't think that they could remove every single little piece of marble into a corner…

Kuno: Exactly. Also, if they were used, the rubble would surely be covered in blood. The pile of marble that we found was completely spotless.

Akira: …Don't see what else it could be. There wasn't anything that really screamed 'murder weapon', anyway! I don't even think that there was a trace of anything used as a weapon!

Kuno: No, that's wrong!

Akira: No, that's _right_! Get your catchphrases right before you yell them at people, spy boy.

Kuno: It's not entirely clear, but there was a trace of something that could have been used as a murder weapon. Did anyone else see those **shards **that were around Masaru's body?

Haniji: Yes, I happened to…when I was looking over the body…

Masahide: I don't get it! What do a whole bunch of shards have to do with Masaru being whacked in the head?

Natsumi: Perhaps, they could have been remains of the weapon that was used.

Masahide: I don't really know of anything that could make all of those shards, though.

Kuno: I'm not completely sure what it could have been, but it was probably something on that floor. Since they needed time to get those body suits, they wouldn't have time to get a real conventional weapon.

* * *

**NONSTOP DEBATE**

Kuno: If there's anything on that floor that could have made those shards…what could it have been?

Sugita: Ugh…Well, obviously, it had to be something black-colored…

Masahide: And something they could whack him in the head with! Like…a bottle or something?

Monokuma: I SWEAR TO GOD, THAT'S ALREADY HAPPENED BEFORE!

Elena: They could have used a mirror…Never mind, a mirror probably can't kill you.

Eiko: Something black that could make shards like that…

Eiko: All I can think of is one of those TV's from the TV room, but-

Kuno: Eiko, I agree with that!

* * *

Masahide: HUH?! They used a TV to bash him in the head to death?!

Kuno: It's the only thing that makes sense. It's certainly powerful enough to crack someone's skull…not that I've ever seen that happen, but it would probably be able to. Plus, the screen shattering would have definitely left those shards around his body. The culprit must have disposed of the rest of the TV to ensure that it wasn't suspected as a weapon.

Natsumi: It also makes sense that they would leave the rubble from the Monokuma busts there as well, to drive even more suspicion away from the TV they had used.

Kuno: Hmm…something's also off about how the TV was used…during the investigation, the TV room was locked.

Ace: Yes, I remember how much you helplessly struggled with that doorknob, Okura-sama.

Kuno: …Anyways, since the only way to have access to the TV room is through the door, not through a vent, the culprit must have locked the door somehow. But I have no idea how…

Eiko: Well, we can stick to the fact that they used the TV to murder Masaru…at least that's been cleared up. But Kuno, you said something about other rooms, too? Were any of the other rooms locked?

Kuno: …Not that I can remember, no. The lounge room is where the body suits were found, the art room was only missing the Monokuma busts, the empty room only had the broken vent, the observatory is where the murder occurred…but the infirmary…

Elena: There was somethin' up with the infirmary, Kuno?! I-It wasn't anything bad, right?

Akira: Of course _he's_ the one who knows. He's there all the time, anyway.

Kuno: It had something to do with the cabinet in the infirmary. When I went in there, there was a whole mess of spilled liquids and such…and it was all next to the poison section.

Elena: They used th-the posion?!

Kuno: Yes, it appears that's what happened. And they specifically used the poison…

Eiko: S-So…did they use the poison on Masaru? To weaken him or something before they killed him? I know those poisons that cause death can also immobilize whoever their used on, or-

Ace: Shut your garbage mouth for a second.

Eiko: ?! Excuse you?! I'll have you know that my mouth is quite clean, thank you very much!

Ace: I'm serious. I know what I'm talking about, you unlucky trash.

Eiko: I swear, when this trial's done…

Kuno: Is it actually something important, Ace?

Ace: I think so. It has to do with that wonderful poison…

Eiko: Bu-

Ace: I wasn't done talking. Don't interrupt me. *Ahem* Anyways, yes, there was a whole mess of that glorious poison on the floor…but I believe that the only reason that was there was to confuse someone. They would only need to use one, would they not? I'm sure one of those things alone could kill someone…

Eiko: …Can you just finish?

Ace: Certainly. Only one bottle was actually missing from that part of the cabinet. All of the others were medicines, from what I noticed.

Sugita: S-So…was the missing bottle the death poison?

?: N-No! Wait a second! I-I know who the killer is!

* * *

_**NEW POLL ON MY PROFILE!  
**_


	20. Trial of Truth: Finale

**BEFORE WE RESUME THE TRIAL-  
-As always, it makes me ecstatic to see a review pop up! Thanks for all of the support!  
-At the time I'm writing this, I've looked at the poll results…it's pretty mixed so far. Only one person got it right, and it was globalization because she knew, so…  
-Sorry about the whole cliffhanger thing. 26 pages is waaaaaay too much for one sitting, even for me. Even though the usual is around 18-20 pages…I don't know why, but I feel like I write better when I have a deadline. (edit on 7/3/15: *reads over this and realizes the 27 page length...0_0)  
-THIS IS A PSA: IF THERE IS A LIZARD IN YOUR ROOM, **_**RUN**_**.  
-(edit on 7/3/15: Hey, sorry about the late update…for the fourth time. I've been stumped on this part for a while. I knew how it was going to end, but I had no idea how I was gonna get there, if you know what I mean. Anyway, because of that, I've been working on the chapter after the next one, because I have a lot of ideas for that one.)  
-(another edit: I'm really sorry if there are numerous mistakes. I did all of this in one sitting, pretty much, and I didn't really have the time to proofread it. I apologize in advance!)**  
**-HAPPY DESPAIRING~!**

* * *

Ace: I wasn't done talking. Don't interrupt me. *Ahem* Anyways, yes, there was a whole mess of that glorious poison on the floor…but I believe that the only reason that was there was to confuse someone. They would only need to use one, would they not? I'm sure one of those things alone could kill someone…

Eiko: …Can you just finish?

Ace: Certainly. Only one bottle was actually missing from that part of the cabinet. All of the others were medicines, from what I noticed.

Sugita: S-So…was the missing bottle the death poison?

Ryota: N-No! Wait a second! I-I know who the killer is!

…

Kuno: …You do?!

Akira: That's impossible! We were just talking about the poison and stuff, so how do you already know?!

Ryota: …

Ace: As I was sayi-

Ryota: Stop! It has nothing to do with th-the posion! That's not important right now!

Kuno: Then what does it have to do with, Ryota?

Ryota: I-It's just common sense! I mean…

Ace: Uh, I wasn't done talking, you trashy son of a bitch! If I wanted your opinion, I would have asked a long fucking time ago!

…

Ryota: …Can't I just t-talk, man?

Ace: …?

Ryota: Hell, after my best friend is fucking 'TVed' to death, you'd at least let me say one sentence without being interrupted! Now just let me say one thing, and I'll let you run your garbage mouth, alright?!

Ace: …

Akira: Okay, since when did youget the right to start bitching around?! Weren't you gonna tell us something, like, a few seconds ago?

Eiko: Guys, please stop! If he wants to say something let him say it!

Ryota: …

Akira: I'm waiting! He's not saying anything!

Natsumi: Don't keep us all waiting, Ryota. You shouldn't just make false accusations if you don't even know what you're talking about.

Ryota: Ngh…I-It's not, like…but…

Akira: Stop stuttering like a fucking idiot and give us an answer!

Ryota: Th-They wouldn't kill anyone! But, uh, it's the only thing that…but Masaru…

Masahide: What about him? Did he, like-

Natsumi: Don't open your mouth. Ever again.

Masahide: …

Ryota: I-I don't really know how to, um, _explain_ how it…but…it could've only…

Akira: ARE YOU GONNA TELL US OR WHAT?!

Ryota: Jeez! I'm just…I'm just thinking…no! I know who did it, a-and I guess I have to tell all of you bastards why it's them!

Kuno: …Are you sure you know what you're talking about?

Ryota: Stop questioning me! If anyone's gonna kill my Masaru and think they're gonna get away with it, they're really fucking wrong about that!

* * *

***RYOTA* MAKE AN ACCUSATION**

**EIKO WATANABE**

* * *

Ryota: I-It was…It was you, **Eiko**! It could have only been you, and you know for damn sure that it was!

Eiko: !?

Natsumi: Wait, you have no evidence for this. You can't just blame Eiko for something she had no part in.

Eiko: ?!

Elena: Hey, Eiko…y-you okay over there?

Eiko: Ngh!?

Natsumi: Do you see that? If you're going to blame Eiko, you have to have some sort of reason.

Ryota: I-I do! I know exactly why that bitch killed my Masaru! A-And I'll prove it to all of you bastards, that's what I'm g-gonna do!

Elena: Ryota, this is getting out of hand! Are you sure you're alright?!

Ryota: …

Eiko: …I-I swear! I didn't do anything, Ryota! W-Why do you think it was me?!

Kuno: Yeah, I don't really see Eiko's connection to this whole case. Would you care to explain why you think that she is the killer?

Ryota: …

Natsumi: Exactly. There was no reason for your sudden outburst on Eiko just then. So please, do yourself a favor and-

Ryota: Shut it. I know what I'm doing.

Natsumi: Excuse you?

Ryota: Ugh…you all remember that thing that happened, like, four days ago, right?

Kuno: *thinking* _Thing that happened four days ago? So something that happened on the fifth day…Wait, wasn't that back when I was unconscious from the poison?_

Elena: O-Oh! Yes! This alleged 'fight' that I missed, apparently! Everyone except for Kuno and I had to witness it, right?

Masahide: Oh yeah! Everyone was yelling at each other and stuff like that, and then before you know it, those two are on the ground and-

Kiyoshi: W-We don't talk about that anymore…

Masahide: Oh. Sorry about that, man. Anyway…what does that have to do with Eiko being the killer?

Eiko: I'm not the killer! There's no reason for me to kill anyone!

Natsumi: She's right. Nothing about that whole 'eternal musical' would make Eiko kill anyone…am I correct, Eiko?

Eiko: …U-Uh…

Akira: Okay, I know this isn't in character for me, but I don't really think that she's the killer! It's not like her huge knife was sticking out of his stomach like last time, so…

Natsumi: Correct. There's no real evidence that she was even around when Masaru was murdered. Besides, what does that fight we had have to do with how she's the killer?

Ryota: …Well, uh, I was b-banned from my room…remember _that_?

Natsumi: …I don't. Care to explain, Ryota?

Ryota: …

Natsumi: If you're going to blame someone out of the blue like that, at least have some evidence to back you up. If not, then this is all pointless.

Ryota: I-I don't really know. Monokuma over there just banned me from my room for no reason. He was just kinda dealing out punishments or whatever…

Masahide: Oh, so that's what that was? And isn't that why Akira is still tied to that ceiling fan?

Akira: No, you idiot!

Masahide: Then-

Akira: I don't even know! Just shut the fuck up, got it?!

Elena: Oooookay! That's enough of that, you two! I think we should get back to, y'know, whatever the heck we were talking about!

Natsumi: Yes, Ryota was just making nonsensical accusations directed towards Eiko and bringing up something that we all agreed to not talk about. So, shall we continue with that?

Ryota: It's n-not nonsensical! Not at all! F actually let me talk, then I'd get to why she's the goddamn killer!

Eiko: …

Ryota: S-So let me talk, okay?!

Natsumi: …If you must.

Ryota: Okay…So, I was all banned from my room and stuff, right? Pretty sure I still am. I had to stay in, uh, the dead people's rooms…sorry 'bout that. Um, a-anyways, so, last night-

Eiko: Ngh! Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay!

Ryota: ?!

Eiko: Yeah, I let him stay in my room! He looked so lonely last night, and he had nowhere to stay, so I let him stay in mine?

Haniji: …Does that-

Eiko: D-Don't look at me that way, Haniji! He was sleeping on the _floor_, okay?!

Haniji: Sure he was…

Natsumi: What does Ryota being in your room have to do with you being the killer?

Eiko: …

Ryota: …I-I was in there when I was writing th-the note…

Natsumi: …So?

Ryota: So, she was the only one wh-who knew that Masaru was going to the observatory! I don't think anyone could just go there with a fucking TV and _assume _that he was gonna be there! So it could have only been Eiko!

Eiko: P-Please! I swear, I didn't do anything!

Akira: Alright, remember what I said just then? Scratch that. Eiko's the real killer after all!

Natsumi: …E-Eiko?

Eiko: I swear to god, it wasn't me! I-I'd never kill Masaru! N-Never!

Ryota: …You're the only one who could have…

Eiko: Wh-What?! Ryota, I…no! There's no way!

Kuno: …Uh, we can't really just-

Ryota: Shut it, Kuno! We already know who the fucking killer is! Can't we just, like, vote?!

Eiko: N-No! Don't do the voting! I don't want you all to get killed! I'm not the real killer!

Ryota: Yes you are! Yes you fucking are!

Eiko: I swear! I'm not! There's no way it was, really! Can't you just believe me?!

Ryota: Monokuma, I want this bitch executed now! Do the 'punishment time' thing!

Monokuma: Upupupu! So, am I hearing that you guys want to start the voting process?

Ryota: Please! Just make the lever pop up and then we can get rid of that hell spawn for fucking good!

Eiko: No! Please! Just wait! I-It wasn't me, Ryota!

Akira: Can't we just get this over with? I have stuff to do.

Eiko: You're all getting yourselves killed! Just wait a little longer, please!

Kuno: …Don't start the voting, Monokuma. We need more time.

Ryota: D-Don't listen to that asshole! Start the voting thing now, bear!

Natsumi: …Don't do it yet. Eiko's not the killer. At least…I-I don't think she is. One piece of evidence isn't enough. You need more than that.

Masahide: I-I don't wanna die! Can't you just wait a little longer so we don't all die?!

Kuno: Exactly, we're not all going to get ourselves killed because of one piece of evidence that points to Eiko. Just lay off on the voting for now, Monokuma.

Monokuma: …Okay! If you say so! Upupupu!

Ryota: …

Elena: Why are you even in such a rush, sweetheart?!

Ryota: …

Natsumi: I think he's not saying anything else, so let's conti-

Ryota: Do we really need anything else?!

Eiko: Hm?!

Ryota: I mean, she's the only one who knew that he was going to the observatory! She saw me writing that note! Unless she told anyone, which…

Eiko: Which I didn't! I never told anyone about that note! I-I just happened to see you writing it…

Kuno: It's not just the note we need to consider, however. There are a lot of things that don't match up if you place Eiko in the killer's spot.

Ryota: …

Kuno: For example, the murder weapon. The TV that the real culprit used. If the room was locked, then how was Eiko able to obtain it?

Ryota: That doesn't even matter! She got the damn TV, locked the fucking door, and then went to go bash Masaru in the head! Do we really need to keep going? We already know how all of it went down!

Natsumi: No, none of us really know what 'went down' when the real culprit killed Masaru. Unless it was you?

Ryota: I-I already told you! I didn't kill Masaru! Eiko did, and we're done here!

Eiko: I didn't! I'm not the killer, how many times do I have to tell you?!

Kuno: Besides, something that you said doesn't make sense. If Eiko did get the TV from the TV room, then how was she able to lock it afterwards?

Ryota: …Sh-she just did, okay?!

Eiko: I never locked that door! I never got a TV from there, and I never killed Masaru!

Ryota: Stop fucking lying to everyone! You're the killer, and I don't see why we can't just vote now! Hey, bear, can't we just vote now?!

Eiko: Please! There's no meaning to this!

Masahide: Y-Yeah! We're not all gonna die right now! I hope not, at least…

Kuno: You can't say that she 'just did', Ryota. You have no idea how she could have pulled off the murder, aside from the fact that she knew Masaru would be in the observatory that late.

Ryota: …

Kuno: Also, the only way to lock the TV room, from what I gathered from the investigation, was by locking it with a key. And based on how this is going, I don't think that Eiko owns the key to that room.

Ryota: …Well…

Kuno: So, Eiko. Does that clear you of suspicion?

Eiko: …

Natsumi: Eiko, he asked you a question. You're not the killer, so tell him that.

Eiko: U-Uh…I…

Natsumi: Eiko?

Eiko: …

Kuno: Eiko…did you have a key to the TV room or not?

Eiko: …

Ryota: I'll take that as an astounding _yes_! So, the bitch did have the key, and then she got the TV, locked the TV room, and bashed him in the head!

Eiko: P-Please! This isn't true!

Ryota: Oh, but you didn't say whether or not you had the key! And I know you wouldn't lie, would you?

Eiko: …Okay, y'know what?! I didn't have any part in this, I swear! I didn't kill Masaru, I'm sure of it!

Kuno: You're 'sure of it', Eiko?

Eiko: …I mean, e-even if I did…I mean…

Natsumi: Eiko would never kill anyone. It's impossible that she was the one who got the key and was able to have access to locking the TV room. So can't we just move on from accusing Eiko of things she had no part in and forget about her?

Eiko: …

Natsumi: Also, when and how could she have gotten the key to the TV room? If I'm correct, the only way to obtain such an important item would be through that bear over there. I don't remember Eiko ever interacting with Monokuma at any time recently before the murder occurred.

Eiko: …Uh…

Kuno: Eiko? Are you okay?

Natsumi: She's fine. Trust me.

Kuno: _…Something doesn't seem right. Well, aside from Eiko acting this way, but I think that there _is _an instance where Eiko could have gotten the key from Monokuma._

* * *

**FLASHBACK**

"_Wait, I gotta question!" Masahide suddenly blurted out, waving his arm in the air. "Does the kigurumi get a trial? Y'know, since it's all dead and stuff?"_

"…_What kinda stupid half-assed question is that?!" Monokuma shouted back, annoyed with the incompetence of his students. "You already know how they died, so what's the point? So basically, anyone who gets punished doesn't have the right to a trial." _

_Monokuma hopped back to the center of the room, his face lighting up._

"_You guys are free to leave now! Go back to the room where you were in and sing to your heart's content! Come on, now, move it!" __**The bear perked up, as if he had remembered something. "Oh, I almost forgot! Anyone who isn't Ms. Watanabe is free to go! Thank you!"**_

"_**Aw, why me?!" Eiko said, sounding deflated as she watched all of the other students leave.**_

"…_**What are you doing with Eiko?" Natsumi asked before she left the room, stopping in the middle of the doorway. "It better not be anything imperiling to her…"**_

"_**It's nothing! Just leave!" Monokuma called to the sniper, laughing to himself as he watched her walk out of the room.**_

**FLASHBACK END**

* * *

Kuno: Wait a second, guys! Eiko…you _do _have the key to the TV room, and Monokuma was the one who handed it off to you. All of that happened yesterday…am I right?

Eiko: ?!

Natsumi: W-Wait a second, there's no proof that…that she…

Kuno: But there is. Yesterday, after we had just discovered that Pyonpyon-King had been punished in the empty room, Monokuma let everyone leave…except for Eiko. That was probably when he gave her the key to the TV room. Is that true, Eiko?

Eiko: …I…

Natsumi: Hold on a second, please! There's no reason that Monokuma would give the key to Eiko! Out of every single student here, why does she get the key?

Monokuma: Oh, that stupid thing? Well, I needed a trusting student to hold on to that piece of trash for me! Everyone else here has either committed murder, helped out in a murder, poisoned someone, or some dumb shit like that, so Eiko's my go-to girl!

Kuno: So I was correct? Eiko was the one who got the key to the TV room?

Monokuma: Bada-bing, smartest guy in the ring! Upupupu!

Eiko: Wait! Please! I-It's not…I didn't kill Masaru! Don't vote! P-Please…

Ryota: Is there any reason why we shouldn't vote for the person that killed Masaru? 'Cause that doesn't make any fucking sense! Are we gonna vote not, or what?!

Eiko: Unless you'd enjoy being killed, then no! It couldn't have been me, I'm serious!

Natsumi: …E-Eiko…Did you…

Kuno: It seems like she's the only one who could have actually pulled it off. She had the key to the TV room where she got the murder weapon, she saw Ryota writing the note to Masaru…Eiko is pretty much the-

Eiko: I DON'T REMEMBER!

Kuno: …What was…

Eiko: I swear to god, I did absolutely _nothing_! I mean, even if I did kill Masaru, I…I don't even remember! I don't remember anything from last night, okay?!

Ryota: …That's the most desperate thing I've ever heard in my fucking life.

Eiko: Ugh! Really, I have no recollection whatsoever of last night! I was awake at one moment, and then the next, Sugita's telling me that you guys found a body! S-So…

Kuno: That's kind of hard to believe, Eiko. You're just being desperate at this point.

Eiko: I-I'm not! I don't remember! I don't remember getting that TV, going to the observatory, and killing Masaru with it!

Ryota: But you fucking did! You…

Eiko: I didn't do it, Ryota! My mind is completely blank from ever bashing him in the head! Please…I know you're not gonna believe me, but I'm telling the whole truth!

Natsumi: …

Eiko: Natsumi, please! Y-You know that I'd never kill anyone, right?!

Natsumi: …I-It's undeniable…that you're the one who…why?

Eiko: Don't say that! I'm not the killer! I don't remember anything at all!

Kuno: Eiko…please, just stop. You don't have to keep going like that. If you just told us, then maybe we could just get this whole thing over with.

Eiko: Don't talk to me like that, Kuno! I'd never do such a heinous thing, and you know that! You know me better than most of the people here, right?! I've spent time with you, remember?! Do you really think that I'm the killer?

Kuno: …

Eiko: Do you?!

Kuno: Based on the evidence…yes. But based on knowing you…there's no way. But everything is pointing to you, Eiko. There's no one else that it could have been.

Eiko: Y-You're all going to get yourselves killed! If you'd just believe me, just…just…please! If I don't remember any single thing that happened that night, then…I can't be the killer!

…

Ace: …So that's what that was.

Eiko: H-Huh?!

Ace: I kind of get it now. After a long time of all of you pieces of garbage going on and on about stuff that doesn't even matter…I've got it figured out.

Kuno: What are you talking about?

Eiko: P-Please…

Ace: …I don't believe that Eiko's lying.

Akira: Pfffft! That's bullshit, Ace! Someone can't just 'forget' that they whacked someone in the head with a TV to death! Of course, it's also coming from _your _mouth, which makes it even less true.

Eiko: …

Ace: She's not lying. Even though she's an unlucky bastard, she's telling you guys the truth. At least, that's what I think…

Akira: We're not just gonna rejoice all of a sudden and think that you're not lying! I don't know what the hell you're doing, but it's not gonna work on us! Well, not on me, I don't know about any of these other idiots, but still!

Ace: Just shut up for one second, and I explain why I'm siding with that garbage.

Akira: …Hmph. You can talk all you want, but no one's gonna believe you…and no one's gonna believe Eiko, either.

Eiko: …What are you d-doing, Ace?

Ace: Saving your unlucky ass.

Eiko: U-Uh…?!

Ace: Now, if I wasn't so _rudely _interrupted earlier, I could have explained it a long time ago, but that's not the case. You can thank Ryota over there…

Ryota: …

Ace: Anyway, a long time ago, we were discussing that poison, were we not?

Elena: Wait, huh? What does poison have to do with all of this? I thought we all knew better than to start poisoning things again…

Ace: Simple. The killer didn't poison Masaru…it's plausible to believe that **the killer poisoned Eiko **instead.

Eiko: ?!

Ace: It makes a lot of sense, for that poison that was missing was some sort of 'mental manipulation' thing. Pretty strange for a poison, if you ask me…and, as I recall, after looking at the other bottles of the same type that were in that cabinet, one of the side effects was 'memory loss', and it was definite.

Kuno: *thinking* _…Oh yeah! Ace isn't lying. He can't be. There was definitely some mind manipulation poison in that cabinet…_

* * *

**FLASHBACK**

"_Well, believe it or not, sweet cheeks, some of this stuff can actually help! You just gotta tell the medicine from the poison, and then you'll be just fine! On the bright side, at least to you guys, most of the poisons in here aren't even fatal!" _

_Monokuma opened up the glass door to the cabinet. Everyone slowly started backing up, fearing what would happen if the bear had is hands on poison. "You see this whole row?" he asked, gesturing towards the third row. "All of these poisons can't kill you! Ya see, there's some stuff that just knocks you out for an unknown period of time, stuff that makes you all swollen, stuff that makes you forget everything, __**stuff that makes you easy to manipulate**__, stuff that temporarily turns you purple…just some stuff you can use for fun!"_

_Monokuma closed the door to the cabinet, but he wasn't finished running his mouth. "Most of the medicine and stuff is on the other side, just so you know. Well, I guess I'll be seeing you guys around! I'm gonna go snoop on those two in the lounge room! Hasta la vista, bitches!" _

_The bear disappeared, which left the seven students in the infirmary staring at all of the poison that lay in front of them._

**FLASHBACK END**

* * *

Kuno: That's right…Monokuma said that there was 'stuff that makes you easy to manipulate' when we first discovered the poison cabinet in the infirmary. It's also unlikely that they would need to poison Masaru, because he was already heading to the observatory in the first place.

Ace: …That's all I have to say. You can discuss things amongst yourselves, now…

Kuno: So…Eiko couldn't have been the killer all along…because someone poisoned her?

Eiko: …Oh my god…

Elena: Soooo…is that it? She was just poisoned, or…was she poisoned into killing Masaru?

Kuno: That could certainly be a possibility, that Eiko was forced into killing Masaru. Or…wait…

Eiko: Wh-What?!

Kuno: The culprit…the could have **manipulated Eiko into helping them carry out the murder.**

Eiko: E-Excuse me?!

Kuno: It seems more likely…besides, as we all established earlier, there was definitely someone that was helping the true culprit carry out the murder.

Eiko: N-No…That's not possible…

Kuno: Well, it's the only thing that actually makes sense. That also means that Eiko must have been the first one to discover the body…but because of the side effects of the manipulation poison, she forgot all about it the very next morning.

Eiko: …I-I helped…m-m-murder someone?! I helped murder…Masaru?!

Kuno: …

Ryota: …This…

Eiko: Oh god, Ryota, I'm s-so sorry! I didn't even know that I was…and…I'm…

Ryota: …

Elena: But, uh, what do we even do now?! We can't just _assume _which person in here poisoned Eiko, and it's clear that we aren't gonna get anything out of the real culprit.

Kuno: *thinking* _…So the killer poisoned Eiko and manipulated her into helping carry out the murder? Well, based on the one sole fact that it was Eiko who was poisoned, there's only one person that I can actually imagine who killed Masaru. Then again, like Elena just said, we can't just assume because of this one piece of evidence. But…I have an idea on who it is. And if I'm wrong…I don't know what else I could possibly do…__**but I have to call them out**__!_

* * *

**MAKE AN ACCUSATION**

**NATSUMI EBIHARA**

* * *

Kuno: I have an idea on who the murderer is. And, based on this evidence…it was you, wasn't it, **Natsumi**?

Eiko: H-Hey, Kuno?! P-Please don't-

Natsumi: Is this some kind of joke, Kuno?

Kuno: No, I'm pretty sure I'm not joking. Like I said, based on the evidence that we've all been given, you're the main suspect.

Eiko: K-Kuno-

Natsumi: Eiko, let me speak for myself, if you don't mind. Ahem. So, you're saying that, just because I'm around Eiko a lot means that I'm automatically the one that poisoned her into helping with the murder of Masaru?

Kuno: …Well-

Natsumi: You're going to need _a lot _more than just that to name me your culprit!

Kuno: Natsumi?! Are you-

Natsumi: Don't ask me if I'm alright. I actually know how to control my emotions, unlike some people here.

Kuno: ?!

Natsumi: And you were saying? About how I'm _clearly _the culprit?

Kuno: Actually, if we put you into the position of the true culprit, it makes a lot of sense. You could have gotten all of that information out of Eiko through the poison. And, even though this is basically an assumption, you're definitely the most likely person in here that could have poisoned Eiko last night.

Natsumi: So just because I have a friend here means that I have to turn my back on them and poison them, just for my own benefit? Pardon my choice of words, but that's absolute bullshit.

Kuno: *thinking* _She's clearly not going to give in any time soon. I just _know _that she's the culprit, but…it's starting to get aggravating how I can't put my thoughts into words. Maybe, if I…_

Natsumi: Are you done being unusually silent, Kuno? Because I would adore hearing more of your numerous false accusations. First Eiko, now me…and they call you the ultimate espionage. You would think that a spy would be smarter than to-

Kuno: Okay, that's enough, Natsumi. But there's one way that I can find out if you're the real culprit.

Natsumi: Would you care to explain?

Kuno: Certainly. Eiko, I need to ask you a question.

Eiko: Wh-Why are you bringing me into this?!

Kuno: Because, if you answer this question, we can determine the true culprit.

Eiko: …I-I don't want to…

Kuno: Eiko, what seems more ideal- Letting the guilty receive their rightful punishment, or letting all of the innocent bystanders die because of one person's incompetence?

Eiko: …Ask away, Kuno.

Kuno: Good. So, what's the last thing you remember before being poisoned?

Eiko: …Ngh…

Kuno: Eiko, please. Just tell us. We want to get out of here alive…

Eiko: …F-Fine! It's blurry a-a-and unclear, but…I-I was in the lounge room, and…I-I'm sorry, I-

Natsumi: Questioning Eiko is pointless. She has already stated that she didn't remember anything from that night, am I correct? Eiko?

Eiko: …Y-You were there, too…a-a-and then it's j-just black…

Natsumi: …You're just-

Ryota: Can we just vote now?!

Natsumi: ?!

Ryota: We already know who the killer is…punish them, Monokuma. Please.

Eiko: Guys, I-

Natsumi: But there's no one to punish. No one has done any wrong here. Some unidentified person killed someone, and we still have no idea who it is. So, shall we move on?

Kuno: Actually, I can prove it was you, Natsumi! We just need to break this down, and we'll get to that conclusion!

* * *

Kuno: So, it all started yesterday, when Ryota was writing a note specifically for the victim- Masaru Nakamura. The note read that he would meet him in the observatory at one-thirty in the morning. However, because of the aftermath of a fight that had happened a few days back, Ryota was banned from setting foot in his room. Because of that, he had to stay in someone else's room for the time being. Eiko willingly obliged to letting him stay there, and since he was in her room at the time, Eiko witnessed Ryota writing the note to Masaru.

Then, at some point late at night, before one thirty, Eiko and the culprit were hanging out in the lounge room. It's unclear why, but the culprit suddenly had been driven to commit murder, and they knew that they needed assistance doing it. So, through some means, the culprit was able to poison Eiko, which caused her to become extremely easy to manipulate. I would assume that the culprit was able to force information out of Eiko, such as who would be an easy target. Because of the note they saw earlier, and the current time it was, it wouldn't be a surprise that Eiko would say that Masaru would be an easy target.

To get prepared for that murder, the culprit and Eiko, their accomplice, dressed themselves in full body suits, which can easily be found in the back closet of the lounge room. Those were used to keep themselves from being covered in blood, and maybe even to prevent anyone from being able to see who it was. Another thing they did was gain access to an unsuspecting murder weapon- a TV from the TV room. A TV could easily kill someone by making contact with the victim's head. So, Eiko proceeded to get the TV for her 'master', by using the key that Monokuma had given her earlier that day. To direct suspicion away from the weapon that was used, Eiko locked the TV room, so no one would be able to access it during the investigation period.

Once they were prepared, the pair went to the observatory, where, either before or after they arrived, Masaru was there. Not expecting what was coming, most likely, with help from their accomplice, the culprit managed to severely crash the TV into Masaru's skull, which was enough to kill him.

After that was done, the two took the body suits off, which were covered in a reasonable amount of blood, so much so that some of it had bled through. Because they couldn't leave footprints, the culprit ordered Eiko to help lift them into the air vent as an easy escape route. Because of the sharp edges of the vent's entrance, the culprit cut themselves, leaving a small amount of blood and black fabric at the entrance. This makes sense, because the culprit in question _does _wear black knee socks, which could easily be torn.

The culprit landed in the empty room after making their escape through the air vent. The blood must have either dried or rubbed off in the air vent, because no prints were found in the empty room. Once they left, in order to direct suspicion away from a TV being used, the culprit must have gotten ahold of one of the Monokuma busts in the art room, went back the observatory, and smashed it on the ground. They then swept the shattered remains into the corner, posing it as the true murder weapon.

After that was done, the culprit ordered Eiko to go back to her room, and then they headed back to theirs, so they could use 'asleep' as their alibi. During this time, Ryota, who had written the note, was sound asleep, and must have slept through his meeting with Masaru.

This all could have only been accomplished by one person…

And that person is Natsumi Ebihara!

* * *

Kuno: Now, does _that _clear things up for all of you?

Eiko: …N-Natsumi?! Did you really…

Natsumi: …

Kuno: There's nothing you can do now, Natsumi. There's no denying that you're the one who killed Masaru.

Natsumi: …I can't die. I can't.

Kuno: Hm?

Natsumi: Y-You're not just going to execute me like that, are you, bear? Y-You can't. I still have things that need to be done. _Business _that I must take care of. You can't kill me. I haven't been fulfilled.

Eiko: Natsumi, what are you-

Natsumi: I get it. You bastards are smart. Ding dong, you're all right here. You can call me a coldblooded killer, if you must. I don't mind. Besides, that mere thing isn't nearly as bad as some of the other people I've had to take care of in the past. A lot…bloodier. A lot more fun. And it actually had meaning.

Ryota: A-Are you saying that you…killed Masaru for no reason?

Natsumi: No, not necessarily. I wasn't nearly as fazed and affected from the musical as most of you were. Singing about how many people that I've killed without mercy…it didn't really bother me. But it hit me that… I had to leave. I only killed your friend so I could get out of this godforsaken hellhole.

Ryota: …Wh-Why Masaru?

Natsumi: What do you mean by that?

Ryota: …You c-could've killed anyone else…a-and you chose him…wh-why?!

Natsumi: …You can't blame me for that choice. If you're going to blame anyone…you should blame Eiko.

Eiko: M-Me?! I didn't…I didn't know what I was doing!

Natsumi: Clearly, there was some willpower left in you, Eiko.

* * *

**FLASHBACK**

_This was the only way that I could actually get help with committing a murder. By god, I hope this poison worked…_

"_Eiko."_

"…_Yes?"_

_She sounded so emotionless…she's usually full of emotion. That's not a normal reaction to anything, not for anyone here. That poison must be in effect._

"_Eiko…do something for me. Just…I don't know. Jump up and down."_

_Without hesitation, she started doing as I told. She began helplessly jumping up and down, with absolutely no emotion in her facial expression. I'm sure that if I told her to have some sort of emotion, she would._

"_Okay, you can stop now, Eiko."_

"_Yes. I shall stop."_

_This felt so wrong…but it was the only thing I could do._

"_Eiko-"_

"_Yes?"_

"…_Help me leave here."_

"_Must I break down the door?"_

"_No, no. I…I need to kill somebody, and you're going to help me with it."_

"_Okay…"_

_It was so strange, ordering Eiko around like that. She had no idea what was going on, and she had no power to stop me at this point. It was what it was, and she was going to do me a huge favor._

"_You're my ticket to leaving, Eiko. I…You're going to be the victim, okay?"_

"…"

"_Eiko?"_

"_That won't be necessary. Masaru will be in the observatory momentarily. I don't need to be killed. You can kill him just as easily."_

**FLASHBACK END**

* * *

Natsumi: With whatever power she had left…she refused to let me kill her. She knew that Masaru would be in the observatory.

Eiko: …I-I don't remember…I'm so sorry…

Natsumi: Hmph, I would suspect that you would flip out on me for attempting to kill you, but it seems as if you're not going to.

Monokuma: Okay, enough of this shit! You guys are gonna vote, and you're gonna vote NOW! Got that?!

* * *

**GUILTY: NATSUMI EBIHARA  
CONGRATULATIONS!**

* * *

Natsumi: Don't kill me. I don't…I don't deserve any of this. I have to leave. I can't die. My life goal hasn't been fulfilled. If I die, I won't die complete.

Monokuma: Guess who doesn't give a fuck?! Bingo, it's me! Anyway, looks like all of you are pretty smart cookies! All of you voted correctly!

Natsumi: I-I'm begging you. If I don't complete what I was meant to do, I'll-

Monokuma: Oh, do I have a great punishment for you! Let's get this show on the road! Any last words, Ms. Ebihara?

Natsumi: …You can't do this! You fucking can't! Have you ever heard of 'revenge', Monokuma? Well, there's something I have to do! You're not killing me now! Not like this! I'm not going down to a teddy bear like you!

Eiko: …

Natsumi: I-I'm sorry, mom. I-I'm so sorry I couldn't…I tried…I can't die like this, I just can't…

Monokuma: Alrighty then! It's…PUNISHMENT TIME!

Natsumi: That bastard will go to hell…

* * *

_**GAME OVER!  
NATSUMI EBIHARA, THE SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL SNIPER, HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY!  
**__**COMMENCING EXECUTION…**_

Natsumi is found alone in a room full of several things to hide behind- many boxes, to be precise. She's handed with a gun. She doesn't seem to know what's going on, but she's prepared to snipe whatever comes in her path.

Suddenly, Monokuma is seen sneaking up Natsumi, 'operating' a gun of his own. This gun, however, is more than a typical gun. It takes up one of the entire walls of the room, and there is a huge canon filled with enormous bullets, bigger than Natsumi herself.

Natsumi, taking notice of this, quickly darts away from the aim of the huge gun, hiding behind one of the boxes on the far end of the room. She hold her gun close to her, alert of whatever crazy thing is about to happen.

Before she can get up and start shooting at Monokuma, a dark and shadowy figure stands in front of her, holding a gun of his own. It's not known who this man is, but Natsumi clearly recognizes who it is. Shocked by this man's appearance, she starts wildly shooting at him.

The figure simply gives her a sadistic smile as the bullets go right through him, not fazing him at all. The man is only a hologram, and Natsumi just wasted every single one of her bullets on him.

She stands up, looking around for where this figure could have disappeared to. However, instead of being face-to-face with that figure, she stands directly in front of Monokuma's huge canon gun.

Natsumi starts running away, but Monokuma is way too speedy for her. With the press of one button, a huge bullet fires out of Monokuma's gun. At lightning speed, it charges into the distracted Natsumi, who had her back turn.

Instead of the bullet going right through her, since the bullet is much wider and taller than her, the fast-moving object rams Natsumi into the hard wall, crushing the hopeless sniper, leaving a significant splatter of blood around the room.

* * *

Monokuma: …So much fun! Upupupupu! Oh man, that was a good one!

Monokuma: Now, I'm not standing here to watch you guys mope around! Now out of my trial room, you miserable bastards! SHOO!

* * *

_All mortified students filed into the compact elevator, utterly speechless. All…except five._

_Only eleven of the ultimate students remained. Without Paige, Ryunosuke, Pyonpyon-King, Masaru, and Natsumi, it somehow felt…empty. The constant stuttering and sheer awkwardness of Paige was gone. The warming vibe that Ryunosuke gave off was gone. The odd and eccentric feeling that Pyonpyon-King presented was gone. The joyfulness and welcoming nature that Masaru had was gone. The cold and intimidating demeanor of Natsumi was gone. _

_As the elevator went up, they all wondered what the next days ahead had in store for them._

_But they all knew one thing: The despair would live on…_

* * *

_**NEW POLL ON MY PROFILE!**_


	21. New Pairs and Internal Conflict

**BEFORE WE GET STARTED WITH CHAPTER 3:  
-I looked at the poll results…I'm hysterically laughing right now. Poor Kuno…Basically, based on those results, in this chapter, I'll mainly be focusing on the people in the poll that are above Monokuma, since that bear was my dividing line. I hope you guys enjoy!  
-(edit on 7/7/15: Of course, the poll results change right in the middle of me writing this. It's fine…Good thing only three of the characters were below Monokuma, then.)  
-Let the business ensue, I guess. Just because a CERTAIN SOMEONE is too lazy to write something and is making me do it for them, *cough cough*. Aw well, with that and all of these sports being shoved down my throat, it's getting hard for me to get these out as quick as I usually do.  
-Warning in advance: This is the most awkward and unsettling chapter I've ever had to write. Please take caution.**

* * *

_All of my friends are dying. This really sucks._

_What does that make it now? Like…five? Huh, that's a lot. I guess these guys are really serious about the whole 'mutual killing' thing. It's not like I'd ever kill anyone. Ever. I don't even think I'm capable of doing such a thing._

_I mean, look at me! Do I really have the looks of a killer? _

_Yes, because an almost five feet tall fifteen-year-old who only excels at one thing is pretty intimidating, if you ask me. I'm a beast at ping pong and stuff like that, but I'm not the most beastly person on the face of the Earth._

_Ma and Pa said it themselves- am I really such a disgrace? Nothing more than a servant?_

_Uuugh, why can't I just leave?! Akihito is probably worrying about me a lot…And probably still working his ass of. I know he probably doesn't have to work that much anymore, since I'm not around, but he's probably all alone because I'm not around. _

_Well…my life is awful. I'm trapped in a death school, and everyone's going all murder-crazy. Who knows if I'll ever see Akihito again? Hehe, wonder how all of those fan clubs are coping…and I wonder if Akihito finally found a girlfriend._

_Yeah, everything can't be going any worse right now, but at least I've made a friend. A best friend. Maybe even more than a friend…I don't know, she's not very good at expressing her emotions without directly changing the topic to gore and stuff. But she's keeping me in check. Making sure I don't set everything I touch on fire and being there to slap me in the face when I deserve it._

_Haniji, please don't go murder-crazy like everyone else._

*bzzzzzt*

"Good morning, students! It's seven in the morning! Time to wake up! Let's all strive to do our best today!"

*bzzzzzt*

The blond-headed young student was quite startled by the announcement. He didn't think it would be coming on so soon, and was too invested in his 'deep thinking session' to even pay attention to the current time.

Masahide abruptly sat up from his bed, starting to feel dizzy. He felt like he would start hallucinating and seeing things at any given moment. After all, he had barely gotten any sleep last night. His mind was clouded with lots of things- the trial, his brother Akihito, Haniji, who was sleeping on his floor, and all of the deaths that had happened.

He still had vivid images of every murder, execution, and punishment in his head. The huge knife protruding from Paige's stomach, Ryunosuke unwillingly hanging himself, the leftover blood splatter from the Pyonpyon-King incident, Masaru drenched in blood on the floor of the observatory, Natsumi being crushed against the wall by a huge bullet…

_Will it ever end?_

That early in the morning surely wasn't any time for Masahide to be contemplating his life, but why not? Haniji was still asleep (somehow) and he had nothing better to do…

Except he wasn't going through the day without eating first, so that was a road block.

* * *

The cafeteria was almost completely empty that morning.

But who could blame the students? After the last trial, the last thing anyone wanted to do was face one another. Some of the students in particular had it worse than others, and there were just the sole few that hated socializing with people.

Either way, there were only four people actually sitting in there, and it was dead silent.

Of course, one of those four was Kuno. He had no reason to _not _go there, so he chose to do what he did every morning. Well, every morning except for the fifth one, for various reasons.

Masahide and Haniji had also arrived to the cafeteria. Haniji was there less willingly than Masahide, since he only dragged his friend there because he was starving. Masahide waved at Kuno before disappearing into the kitchen, while Haniji simply followed, not greeting anyone with her usual dull expression.

The other student there was Elena, who was her usual cheery self. Everything about her appeared the same, except since no one was in the mood to talk, and she knew better than to bother people, she kept unusually silent. She was right next to Kuno, who she had grown rather accustomed to since they first entered the school.

Most of the students were absent for obvious reasons. Some of them…not so clear.

Kuno thought it was fairly strange that Sugita was missing. She had 'gotten over' her slump from a week ago and had averted back to her normal self, but for some reason, she wasn't present at the usual meeting place in the morning.

Kiyoshi and Daichi also had no reason to not be there. They were unusually separate from each other, but why didn't they just come to the cafeteria separately?

It was probably the same as it always way for Ace- 'Everyone here is unlucky garbage', as he would often say. The same went for Akira, who just flat-out despised every single person that was trapped in that school, maybe even every single person on Earth.

Now, it was obvious why Eiko wasn't there. After witnessing her state after the trial concluded, she would be in no shape to start trusting anyone. Not after her best friend there had turned her back on her and used her to help murder someone.

The most obvious absence was that of Ryota. His best friend had just been brutally murdered. What could he even do? It's not like trying to talk to anyone would magically heal whatever pain he had.

The cafeteria was so unsettlingly silent that Kuno had begun thinking on whether or not he should leave. He didn't want to leave Elena by herself…but she would probably tag along anyway. She was very clingy to him. Not in an Ace sort of way, but in her own way. She wasn't nearly as annoying as Ace could get, so that was a plus side.

But before he could even think about standing up…

*bzzzzzt*

"Attention! ATTENTION! Will _all _students please report to the cafeteria for a very important announcement? Don't worry, it's not a motive! It's way too early for that again, don't you think? Well, see you there! Upupupupu!"

*bzzzzzt*

"What?! Again?!" Masahide exclaimed worriedly, emerging from the kitchen with various bundles of food in his hands. "Better not be anything stupid. And I hope no one dies from it."

Haniji trailed behind him, fiddling with her paintbrush. She was clearly lost in thought.

"I agree, this is getting' out of hand…" Elena said with a heavy sigh, leaning back into her seat.

Immediately after the announcement, a few of the missing students started entering the cafeteria.

The first two to arrive were in a pair…and it was a strange pair, at that.

Daichi trudged into the cafeteria, a look of pure annoyance on his face. Alongside him was Ace, surprisingly. He had his arms wrapped around the mercenary and had his head leaning on his shoulder affectionately.

"…If anyone is wondering…I have no idea," Daichi said sternly, trying to ignore the gambler that was clinging to him.

"Ace? Are you okay? What are you doing?" Kuno asked.

"Oh? Well, Okada-kun has proven himself worthy! Haven't you, dear Okada-kun?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Daichi said exasperatedly, attempting to pry Ace off of him. Unfortunately, he wouldn't budge, and was pretty much glued to Daichi.

"'Proven himself worthy'? What do you mean by that?" Kuno knew it was a generic question, but he was puzzled at Ace's strange behavior.

"Don't you remember, Okura-sama? During the trial? Okada-kun proved himself worthy! He must have been quite _lucky _to fall into the arms of that garbage! If he hadn't, his poor beautiful face would have been tampered with! And we can't have that, can we?"

…_Okay?_

Not long after the awkward encounter with Daichi and Ace, Akira walked in to the cafeteria. There was nothing special to note about her. She acted the exact same way as she usually did, hand attached to her hip and making disgusted expressions at all of her fellow students.

Akira went and sat in the far corner of the room, clearly not in the mood to socialize with anyone.

Kiyoshi was the next to walk in.

He, similar to Akira, appeared to look completely normal. His expression was the same as it always- not emotionless or blank, but lacking something. That was until he saw Daichi and Ace.

Kiyoshi was utterly bewildered at the scene. His best friend was hanging out with someone that everyone strongly hated, except for Kuno, who Ace was usually clinging on to. He watched as Ace desperately tried to grab ahold of Daichi's hand, but he kept brushing him off.

He tried to ignore it, however, because they weren't talking to each other, for reasons he would rather not explain. The least he did was stick up for Daichi when Akira was accusing him during the trial, but other than that, they hadn't exchanged words since the musical happened.

Eiko and Sugita walked in to the cafeteria together. Sugita was certainly a lot more cheerful than Eiko was at that moment. It was like how she behaved on the first two days, before the incident happened.

Eiko, on the other hand, looked distraught and uncomfortable. It was completely reasonable. Especially because of what happened at the trial the day before.

And then, everyone's favorite black and white bear popped up.

"Upupupupu! Looks like all of you bastards are here!" Monokuma shouted gleefully, bringing himself to the center of the cafeteria. "Now I have to tell you guys the news-"

"Wait a moment, bub!" Elena interrupted. She took one quick look around the room, and then faced Monokuma. "Where's that sweetheart Ryota?"

The bear sadistically laughed to himself. "My my, you sure are very observant, Ms. Grey! But, let me assure you, Mr. Suzuki is just fine! He's a little busy with some 'school work', that's all."

That didn't even need explaining. Kuno already knew that 'school work' meant that Ryota had been abducted by Monokuma. That had also happened to Masaru and Haniji, but once they returned, they didn't remember a thing that occurred during their disappearance.

"Anyway, since Mr. Suzuki is out of the question," Monokuma continued, "It's time for that announcement I was talking about! Upupupupu!"

"Don't let it be a motive…" Elena muttered, looking down towards the ground.

"Do you even listen, you idiot?!" Akira snapped at the ringleader. "He already said it wasn't a damn motive! Besides, we don't need you ruining everything again like last time!"

"Ding dong, you _aren't _wrong! It's not a motive! Like I said, a motive right after the trial would just be inconceivable!" Monokuma cackled.

"Then what is it? Some kind of group punishment?" Masahide asked grimly. "Because if it is…uh, count us out."

"Don't worry, it's nothing morbid like that! …YOU GUYS GET TO LEAVE!" Monokuma shouted, throwing his hands in the air happily.

For a moment, the spirits in that room were lifted. Most of the students actually believed what Monokuma was going on about.

"W-We get to leave?!" Sugita stuttered, shocked by the announcement.

"You bastards didn't let me finish! I meant…YOU GUYS GET TO LEAVE THIS FLOOR!"

…

"A new floor has been opened up! It's kind of a tradition now, if you think about it. After every trial, a new floor becomes accessible! It's down below the b-one floor, so you guys can find it yourselves!"

"…ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW?!" Akira yelled, getting up from where she previously sat. "You can't just, like, fake us out like that! I don't care about this new damn floor! Just let us leave already!"

"Oh, you sure are a pretty demanding bitch, aren't you?" Monokuma teased, completely ignoring the fact that everyone's hope had just been shattered. That's the only thing that Monokuma was good at doing- creating false hope. "If you guys actually let me finished when I was talking, you wouldn't even be all mopey right now!

"Well…if you flat-out tell us that we're leaving, then it's probable that everyone will believe you…" Eiko deadpanned. "There was no need for that dramatic pause right in the middle of your sentence."

"Can you guys _not _bitch around for one second?!" Monokuma complained. You could tell how fed up he was with how miserable his students were, even though his feelings weren't easily expressed on his face. "Before you guys go and explore, I have another announcement! And it's a biggie, so listen up!"

"I don't want a 'biggie'! I just want to get the heck outta here!" Masahide whined, poking at the large pile of food in front of him.

"…AHEM! As I was saying, before being rudely interrupted by Mr. Kotara over there, it's some pretty big news!" Monokuma took a pause before continuing his announcement, probably to build the suspense. "I need a lot of space to fulfill my duties as headmaster, y'know! The only rooms you guys actually use on this floor are this room, the gym, and your own rooms, right? And even five of those rooms are unoccupied! Well, because I need space to do my work, and having rooms that you guys don't use isn't going to solve anything…you guys are going to be assigned roommates!"

…

"Your roommate will be chosen at random! Once you get to the new floor, it will appear in your ElectroID as a new rule. Speaking of which…you need to get your new roommates! You're going to be required to explore the new floor alongside your roommate! If you leave their side, you'll be brutally punished on the spot!"

No one in that room wanted a roommate. Absolutely no one. Another confusing factor was that there were eleven students, which was an uneven number, so would one room have to have three people? Those thoughts went through everyone's minds as Monokuma laughed at the despair of his students.

"I'll be seeing you guys! Upupupupu!" With that, the bear disappeared.

* * *

Kuno, with extreme dread, looked down at his ElectroID. Monokuma had posted a new rule, along with a list of the rooming arrangements. Kuno had yet to take a look at who he would be sharing a room with, but in the back of his mind, he knew who he would prefer to have a room with.

The ElectroID read:

_6\. All students are required to share a room with their newfound roommate, and only them. There is an exception for one student, who can sleep in whichever room they please._

_The Rooming Arrangements are as follows:_

_Akira Yamashita &amp; Masahide Kotara  
Ryota Suzuki &amp; Kiyoshi Nakashima  
Daichi Okada &amp; Eiko Watanabe  
Haniji Tahame &amp; Kuno Okura  
Elena Grey &amp; Ace Grayson  
{Sugita Taiki} can stay in any room she chooses, but it must be the room of one of her fellow students._

_7\. Additional school regulations will be added if necessary._

What made things even worse was that Monokuma had forced all of the students to go exploring the new floor with their roommate.

Walking around the school with Haniji made Kuno quite uncomfortable. They had never really exchanged words in the past, so both of them were completely silent during the exploration.

Now that his mind was on that topic, Kuno realized that all of the pairs had never really interacted with each other. The only one he could think of was Akira and Masahide, but it was entirely Akira yelling at him that he was an absolute idiot during the trials. Other than that, the others were unsociable with one another.

Aside from the sudden 'roommates' ordeal, there was a whole new floor to be explored.

This floor was about the same size as the previous one. They didn't know the number of rooms on this floor, but all of the rooms were a lot less spacious than the rooms on all of the other floors.

The first room the odd pair entered was the arcade.

In the blue-lit room, there were various old-fashioned games scattered around in the form of big and bulky machines. Sounds of beeps and buzzes filled the room, which came from all of the games.

Since Ryota was nowhere to be found, Sugita and Kiyoshi stood together in the arcade, not making any eye contact with each other. It was a pretty awkward pairing, at least in Kuno's eyes. It only existed, however, because Sugita had no partner and Kiyoshi's had been abducted by Monokuma.

Because standing together with Haniji wasn't going to get any less unsettling, Kuno decided to go and talk to Sugita, who was a more familiar face.

Upon seeing Kuno approaching her, Sugita was the first to speak.

"Oh, hey, Kuno!" the volleyball player greeted, a smile on her face.

"Hey…"

…The more it went on, the more awkward the whole situation got.

* * *

"Okada-kun! Okada-kun! Okada-kun! Okada-kun! Okada-kun! Okad-"

"Ace. Please shut up."

Ace was longing to be next to Daichi, but he could only stay behind him. He was stuck with Elena, who was unfortunately his roommate. The thing Ace wanted most in the world was to be alongside Daichi, since he was one of the only two students there who weren't piles of garbage in his mind.

Daichi and Eiko had to stay side by side, which neither one of them really enjoyed. Sure, they were both friendly with each other, but being forced to be together at every single moment was exhausting.

…_This is probably the single most awkward thing I've ever had to experience… _Daichi thought as he glanced over to his side, where Eiko was unwillingly tagging along. With Elena just filling up space and Ace annoying the ever-loving hell out of him, it was safe to say that Daichi's statement wasn't false.

"…Ace, please don't touch me…"

Ace's arms were wrapped around Daichi's neck. He was clinging onto him really hard, and it seemed like he would never lay off of the poor guy.

After a few more minutes of silently walking through the barren halls, the group finally got to an interesting room.

The only notable thing about the room was the huge indoor pool. There were a whole bunch of signs on the four sides on the pool that read, "CAUTION: 30 FEET DEEP".

"U-Um…That's not very safe…" Eiko muttered, studying the gargantuan pool with uncertainty.

Her comment was answered with another awkward silence, much to her dismay.

"…Guys, I'm really trying here! Can't you just say one thing? Please?!" Eiko begged the group.

"…Okada-kun is the only one worthy of my speech," Ace retorted, grabbing ahold of the mercenary's arm. Daichi tried shaking him off, but Ace didn't budge.

"Uh…sorry, sweetheart…it's just…" Elena was trying to start a conversation, but nothing was working. Those students just didn't mix in the right way.

* * *

"You're such a fucking idiot! Why the hell am I stuck with you?! Out of all people, it had to be you!"

"Hey, I'm not an idiot! I'm actually kinda smart! If everyone wasn't busy murdering each other and stuff like that, my head wouldn't be all messed with!"

All Akira and Masahide could do was bicker with each other. It would be a long and painful ride for them as roommates, as both of them could already tell.

"Oh really? Then why the hell did you take us to a room full of remotes?!"

Well, Akira wasn't wrong about that. The pair was standing in a room that was just piled with remotes. It was similar to the TV room…but with remotes.

"I don't know! It's the first room I saw, so it's the room we're gonna be in for now."

And then, everyone's favorite black and white bear popped up.

"Upupupupupu!"

"Ugh, what now, bear?!" Akira asked, frustrated enough with Masahide. She didn't need Monokuma to suddenly appear and ruin her day even further.

"I bet you're wondering why this room exists, aren't ya, Ms. Yamashita?" Monokuma asked, picking up one of the many remotes and tossing it up and down. "I mean, what does a room full of remotes have to do with anything? Isn't it really puzzling to your simple little brain?"

"My brain isn't simple! I probably have more brains than a teddy bear does!" Akira snapped.

"Well…obviously. I mean, I'm a robot. Could you not tell?"

"…Just tell me what this room means, bear."

"WHAT'S A TV ROOM WITHOUT A REMOTE ROOM?!" Monokuma blurted out in aggravation, throwing the remote he held onto the ground with brute force. "JESUS CHRIST, YOU TWO ARE SLOW IN THE HEAD!"

"Really? You think that, too?" Masahide sighed. "I-I'm not _that _idiotic. I was at the top of my class back at the old s-"

"No one gives a shit, Mr. Kotara!" Monokuma interrupted. He picked up a remote from one of the various piles and chucked it at the ping-pong player's head, knocking off his baseball cap.

"Hey! What the hell was that for?!"

"That's what you get for talking back to your headmaster! Now, there's nothing else for you to see in this room! Go to, like, the club or something! SHOO!"

Hesitantly, after Masahide picked up his fallen hat and put it back on, the pair walked out of the mysterious remote room and back into the halls, where they continued their unstoppable bickering with each other.

* * *

_Eiko had no idea why Natsumi had invited her to the lounge room that late at night._

_Did she want to talk to her or something? Eiko knew that, referring to herself, she was kind of a good person to talk to. She knew how to comfort people when they were feeling down or frustrated. Everyone knew how she was the one who always had a part in stopping the fights, and she rarely ever started them_

_But Natsumi didn't seem like the type of person that would ask for someone to meet them somewhere for no particular reason. From what Eiko could tell, the sniper wasn't having any emotional problems…but what went on in Natsumi's head was a completely different story._

_And there they were, just sitting in the lounge room so late at night, talking to each other._

_Their conversation was pretty casual, and nothing seemed suspicious at first. They just talked on and on to each other, with no clear topic in mind. Then, completely out of the blue, Eiko asked her…_

"_Why?"_

"…_Hm?"_

"_Why is it only me?" Eiko didn't know where she was going with her questions._

"_I don't follow what you're telling me, Eiko."_

"…_Actually, it isn't really me at all. I-It's no one. I just wanna know why."_

"_Why what?" Natsumi snapped, starting to get frustrated with how vague Eiko was being._

"_Umm…" Eiko didn't know how to translate her feelings into words and still have it make sense, but she tried the best that she could. "Like…it doesn't seem like you trust anyone, you know? Not even me that much. I'd just like to know why. I want to…like, get to know you or something. I want to know why you act that way, Natsumi."_

"…_It's really nothing of your concern."_

"_That's what I mean!" Eiko retorted, rolling her eyes. "You never tell anyone anything about yourself. Almost everyone here is an open book, except for you. I'm not trying to be pushy, I just wanna know."_

_Natsumi really didn't feel like explaining her life story to Eiko. It was none of her business why she didn't- no, she couldn't- trust anyone but herself. Besides, she had a job to do that night._

"_Natsumi?"_

"…_I don't understand why you're so interested in knowing me. It isn't that interesting…I can give you the short and sweet version, and that's that."_

"_A-Any version is fine. Just tell me."_

"…_Long story short, there's some business I have to do. People I have to get revenge on for what they have done." Natsumi looked away from Eiko, still skeptical about telling the veterinarian everything about her. "…You can't just murder someone and get away with it like that. She never did anything to deserve what that bastard did to her…and that's why I have to leave."_

"…_?"_

"_This whole Hope's Peak Academy thing is just an obstacle in what I have to do. The longer I'm here, the longer it will take for me to give that man what he rightfully deserves."_

"_I-I'm confused-"_

"_And I'm done talking."_

_After a few minutes of dead silence, Natsumi stood up from the red couch that she and Eiko were sitting on._

"_Do you need anything, Eiko?"_

"_No thank you, I'm feeling fine."_

"…_I-I'm just gonna go get us something. A drink, perhaps. I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere, if you don't mind."_

_The sniper quickly fled the room, leaving Eiko sitting in there alone, trying to comprehend what Natsumi had just spoken of._

_After a few moments, Eiko felt like she could hear the sound of glass breaking, but she merely thought her mind was playing tricks on her. After all, it was almost 1:30 in the morning._

* * *

In fear of the situation becoming even more uncomfortable, all of the groups combined to continue exploring the new floor.

They all silently agreed to that, since none of them were really enjoying being forced to stick together with their new roommate. This case was most notable for Akira and Masahide, who downright despised each other and only communicated through angrily yelling. It was a good thing that everyone had happened to stumble upon each other, forming one big cluster of students.

They now stood in what looked to be the setting of a night club. It had most of the attributes- a stage, a bar, etcetera. The room was dimly lit, but the only thing that kept it moderately bright was the huge and shining disco ball with Monokuma's face plastered on it. It spun rather slowly, but it lit up the huge room.

Unfortunately, just because they were all together didn't mean that the situation would get any less awkward.

"Hey, look, one of those stripper poles or whatever!" Masahide exclaimed, pointing to a long poll that extended from the stage. "Bet they made that for you, Akira."

"_WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!_" Akira growled, preparing to rip out the poor boy's throat.

"…Nothing."

"O-Okay! I think that's enough, you two," Eiko tried to encourage them. No matter what anyone, including Eiko, said, it didn't keep Akira from wanting to murder Masahide right on the spot.

* * *

…_Is there something wrong with me?_

_Pretty sure there's something wrong with me._

_I have the sudden urge to tear someone's head off…and I have no idea why._

_What the hell is going on with me? _

* * *

The next spot the group of students went to was the sports equipment room.

It wasn't anything special or interesting-looking. The room appeared quite similar to the gym, with a whole court for sports, but a lot more miniature. Next to the court was a whole display case of sports objects- basketballs, footballs, baseballs, tennis balls, volleyballs, every other type of sports balls, and many more objects.

There was also some equipment for Olympic-esque sports- a pole for a pole vault, a javelin for a javelin throw, the thing used for the hammer throw, and more, but only one person in that room could actually name them all.

Other than all of those things, there wasn't much about the sports equipment room that was actually remotely interesting.

Because of this, the group left and headed on to the next room.

* * *

"…_Ryota? What are you doing?"_

_Eiko watched as the soccer star was hurriedly jotting something down on a small piece of paper. He didn't think Eiko would notice what he was doing, but was quite startled when she called him out for it._

"_This?" Ryota asked, holding up the piece of paper. "It's nothing, really. Just a note."_

"_A note? For what?"_

"…_I-It's for Masaru. Trust me; it's not a big deal."_

_Despite the size of the writing, Eiko could make out the contents of the note. It read:_

'_Meet me in the observatory at 1:30  
~Ryota'_

"_Why do you need to meet him in the observatory?" Eiko wondered aloud, walking up closer to the student she allowed to stay in her room for the time being._

"_It's nothing."_

"…_Are you sure?"_

"Yes, _I'm sure," Ryota replied rather forcefully, standing up from the floor. "Now, if you excuse me, I have to go."_

"_Um, okay…See you around!"_

"_Yeah. Same with you."_

_With that, Ryota left the room at a fast pace, unnecessarily slamming Eiko's door behind him. The door just creaked back open, due to it still being broken. Not that Eiko wanted to think about it all that much, but it was a good thing that Monokuma had repaired the huge hole that was previously there. _

* * *

"What's this? 'Headmaster Monokuma's Office'?"

Elena was reading off of the gleaming gold plaque that was placed on the door. The so-called 'office' was in a rather weird place, being right next to the remote room.

About the remote room, Masahide and Akira had explained it to their other fellow students earlier. It was just a room full of remote controls, and that was about the gist of it.

"…Wonder what's in here," Kuno muttered as he placed a hand on the door knob. But as soon as the palm of his hand made contact with it…

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Everyone's favorite black and white bear popped up out of nowhere, and it was screaming in Kuno's face.

"Jeez! What the hell, Monokuma?!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

"…What are you doing?"

"THIS ROOM IS OFF LIMITS TO YOU FOOLS! _OFF. LIMITS!_ NOW SCRAM!"

It was a disturbing sight to see the black and white bear screech like that in Kuno's innocent face. It was sudden and startling, and it would certainly be nightmare fuel for later on in the evening.

* * *

_My mind is racing…_

_My palms are sweating…_

_What's going on with me?_

_I want to explode, and I don't have the slightest clue why._

_Is Monokuma messing with me or something? _

_And at the same time…I feel like falling to my knees and bursting into tears._

* * *

The group of students stood inside the last room on that floor…Well, it wasn't really a room. More like a shop.

The pink-painted shop was _full _of candy. There were aisles and aisles full of nothing but the unhealthiest of sweets. There was even a giant statue of Monokuma holding a lollipop that slowly spun around, making the atmosphere even more unsettling. Near one of the walls was a counter with a register, probably for purchasing any of the candy that the shop contained.

_What is this? Some kind of candy shop? It's kind of odd why there's any need for this…especially since none of us have any mon-_

"Surpriiiiiise!"

The black and white bear itself popped up right in front of all of the students. It took one look back at the slow-moving statue of himself, then turned back to the unenthused crowd.

"Do you not enjoy the effort that was put into that thing?" Monokuma asked, referring to the statue. "I mean, it was a pretty complicated thing to do, if you ask me! Upupupu!"

He was greeted with nothing but silence. The students were confused as to why the bear stood in front of them. The last thing they wanted was another 'important announcement', based on how wonderful the last one was.

"I bet you guys are wondering- why a candy shop? Oh boy, what has our tragically handsome headmaster thought of this time in his one hundred-percent cotton brain? Well, I'm here to tell you! It's because I'm sick of you guys MOPING AROUND LIKE HELPLESS LOSERS! So, to help cheer you up from all of this 'torture', I built a candy shop! Now you can rid of your worries in the form of gorging yourself in sugar!"

"Um…we don't have any money?" an indistinguishable voice asked the bear, who simply laughed at their idiotic comment.

"You don't _need _money, you imbecile! That counter is just for show! …That's it for this floor! Now scram! You need to get to know your roommates! I'll be seeing you guys! Upupupu!"

Monokuma vanished, which left the students in that eerie candy shop.

After about a solid minute of silence, they all retreated to their rooms, all thinking about how much they didn't want to socialize with their roommates at all.

* * *

When Kuno and his roommate Haniji got back to the main floor, the hallway that contained everyone's rooms had went through a redesign.

Instead of the usual sixteen doors with everyone's face by their door, there were only six rooms left. There were five pairs, plus one extra, but the sixth room wasn't really needed.

That was until Kuno saw the pictures next to each door.

The order of the doors were:

_Daichi Okada &amp; Eiko Watanabe  
Akira Yamashita &amp; Masahide Kotara  
Ryota Suzuki &amp; Kiyoshi Nakashima  
Kuno Okura &amp; Haniji Tahame  
Ace Grayson &amp; Elena Grey  
Paige Sato, Ryunosuke Sanada, Pyonpyon-King, Masaru Nakamura, Natsumi Ebihara_

The sight of all of the dead students' names and pictures made Kuno cringe. Yes, he would remember them, but he didn't want a constant reminder that they had all fallen at the hands of Monokuma.

_Besides…what's in that room, anyway?_

Kuno cautiously walked over to that extra room, preparing to see whatever contents it held. Haniji didn't even bother moving from her place, since she didn't want to get mixed up in whatever thing Kuno was doing. She preferred to wait for Masahide to come out of his room

But once Kuno put his hand on the doorknob…

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

"God damn it, Monokuma!"

* * *

Kiyoshi enjoyed those moments when he was all alone, and no one could bother him.

He'd much rather be by himself than with everyone else. He felt as if they were all trying to force him to socialize, which if they didn't already know, he wasn't the best at. Besides, the only person he could have in-depth conversations with was avoiding him.

Kiyoshi wasn't trying to stay away from Daichi. In fact, what he wanted most was just to be able to talk to him. Talking to anyone else wasn't the best idea, since they were either busy, unsociable, a bitch, or they would just have a long and awkward silence together. At least Sugita had made the effort to talk to him earlier in the day, but that didn't work very well. Mostly because of Sugita, who was more interested in the arcade than the person she was trying to make conversation with.

So there he was, completely alone in the small confines of his room. He hated that he would have to share it later on, but he didn't mind that it was with Ryota. He knew that Ryota wouldn't make any efforts to make a conversation, since the soccer star already had so much in his troubled head.

It was better than sharing a room with anyone else…except for Daichi, of course.

Plus, since he was without a roommate right now, he could go wherever he wanted without having to drag Ryota around. If he really wanted to, he could attempt to go talk to Daichi.

However, knowing the situation that his friend was in, he decided against it.

But why couldn't he? Hell, back when Daichi was in the hospital after being ambushed, Kiyoshi was there with him. If there was anyone he was comfortable with, it was Daichi.

Kiyoshi was quite startled when his thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.

*knock knock knock*

With a hefty sigh, Kiyoshi got up from his bed and opened the door.

"…Yes?"

"I can't take this fucking shit anymore. I'm done."

"You okay, Daichi?"

Without being told to, Daichi forced himself into Kiyoshi's room, head in his hands.

"Does this look like I'm okay?"

"…I dunno. I'd guess not."

"It's just…Ace. Do you know how many times he leapt up onto my back and wouldn't get off? And how much he was just touching me?"

"…"

"Don't even get me started on the 'Okada-kun' thing. He wouldn't shut up."

"So you're here because you're hiding from him?" Kiyoshi asked the mercenary. It wasn't really normal for Daichi to be so stressed out over one person, especially Ace.

"…You could say that. Bet you that he's looking for me now. I just can't deal with that guy any longer."

"Mmhmm…"

"…"

"…"

"I'll accept that as an apology, Kiyoshi."

"O-Okay."

* * *

"…Draw it with a bunch of spears sticking out of it."

"Huh?!"

It was sudden and startling to hear Haniji blurt something out like that, especially since Kuno hadn't said anything to the painter for the last fifteen minutes. What did 'Draw it with a bunch of spears sticking out of it' even mean?

"…That's what I do when I'm frustrated…then I paint over it," Haniji explained, still not facing Kuno. She was distracted at looking at the wall, cocking her head.

"Frustrated? I'm not frustrated."

"I can tell that you are…"

"You're not even looking at me, Haniji. Besides, I-I'm not angry at anything."

Haniji turned back around rolling her eyes at her clueless roommate. She thought that a spy should be smarter than that. "Every time I turn around…you keep getting redder and redder."

"…"

"Whatever it is…draw it heavily bleeding…and filled with holes from being brutally stabbed to death. And then paint over it…"

"I-I don't think that's necessary. I'm not even mad at anything." Kuno looked in the mirror across from his bed, and realized that Haniji was right. He was a bright shade of red, brighter than any red he had ever seen. "D-Does it really look this bad, Haniji? Or is it just the mirror…"

"Just get over whatever you're thinking about…" Haniji sighed heavily, clearly not the least bit interested in what Kuno was going through.

"You really expect me to just get over it?"

"Better than sulking around…especially around me…"

Kuno was starting to get less frustrated with what was on his mind and more frustrated at his newfound roommate. Was she really that heartless? Kuno had never noticed it before, since she didn't act like this around Masahide. That was probably the case, since being two rooms away from him would surely make her restless.

*bzzzzzt*

"Attention, students! The time is now 10:00 PM, which means that Night Time is in effect. The doors to the cafeteria will be locked momentarily. Make sure to have a good night's sleep and prepare for tomorrow! Upupupu!"

*bzzzzzt*

"Hmm…I'm so used to sleeping on the floor…" Haniji muttered, lying down in her bed, which was unsettlingly close to Kuno's. If she rolled over, she would be stuck in the small space in between the two beds.

"Do you not usually sleep in a bed?"

"Someone so below me doesn't deserve to know anything like that…"

…_This is going to get tiring. _

_Especially with all of this…'internal conflict' or whatever you want to call it._

* * *

*knock knock knock*

Kiyoshi really didn't feel like answering the door, but he automatically had an intuition on who it was.

Daichi had just left, and the boxer was left alone again. He opened the door to see who it was, who he already knew it was, and knew that he wouldn't be left alone for a while.

"Yes?"

"Um, hey. I don't really have a place to sleep, and…" Sugita averted her gaze to one of the empty beds that was lying behind Kiyoshi. "Do you mind if-"

"Hm? Oh, n-no, it's fine. You can stay in here, I guess."

"Oh! Thank you so much!" After all of the shit that she had to go through today, Sugita just felt like wrapping her arms around Kiyoshi and embracing him in a tight hug, but knowing how he was, she decided against it.

Instead, she simply walked into the room and quickly hopped into the bed that was waiting for her.

Kiyoshi just sat on the edge of his bed, not facing Sugita, since he wasn't in the particular mood to attempt to go to sleep.

He was pretty relieved that Sugita wasn't bothering him or anything. For quite some time, he truly forgot that the volleyball player was even there and that he was all alone, just the way he liked it. But, of course, the silence couldn't stay there. Someone had to come and break it.

"Hey, Kiyoshi. You two make up yet?" Sugita suddenly asked, clearly wide awake. She, as well as Kiyoshi, also wasn't in the sleeping mood. She was in more of a talking-to-someone-because-I-feel-lonely mood.

"What do you mean…?"

"You know what I mean. You and Daichi. You guys have been acting weird around each other lately. I'm just wondering."

"…Why are you wondering?" Kiyoshi asked, trying to sound as polite as he possibly could. He knew that it came off as rude, though.

"Just…just because. I'm really bored. You know how long it's been since I've been able to freely run my mouth without getting yelled at? I mean, I don't want to be _annoying _or anything, but there was only one guy who didn't mind when I'd carelessly talk without thinking. I do a lot of things without thinking, actually. So…are you gonna answer me, or…"

"…Okay. I guess we did, then. Is that satisfying enough?" Kiyoshi sighed. Surprisingly, he wasn't starting to get mad at Sugita for being so talkative, but he still wasn't in the mood to have an in-depth conversation, especially since it was so late at night.

"Hmm, that's good!" Sugita exclaimed, sitting up from her lying-down position. "You two would be cute together, you know that?"

"…Huh?"

"Oh, sorry! I didn't mean for it to come off that way. I mean…jeez, I'm not recovering from that one. I just meant-"

"N-No, it's fine. You're okay…" Just as Kiyoshi thought, things were starting to get awkward again. This was definitely the most uncomfortable day he had ever had.

"I know this stuff isn't really my business. Just…once I start going, I can't stop, you know?"

"I-I can clearly tell…"

"Now that I think about it, we're really different in those respects!" Sugita was about to go into a full-on rant at this point. "I kinda talk a lot; you aren't really the talking type of guy. Of course, I'm a girl; you're a guy, the obvious things aside. I'm kinda the more social one, you're not really a social butterfly. And the one that you love is still alive, and my guy is-"Sugita abruptly paused, realizing that she completely botched up what she was saying.

"Uh…Su-"

"…Shit! I-I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking. I mean…ugh, never mind. Sorry. I guess I'll…Forget it. I'm going to bed."

* * *

**Heh…this pairs are just so unpleasant together.  
HAPPY DESPAIRING~!**


	22. Monokuma Counseling: Part 1

**BEFORE THE CHAPTER STARTS:  
-(edit on 7/12/15: Hey…sorry about the long wait. Again. That's the sixth time now, I believe? I'm too lazy to PM all twenty billion of you guys, so…yeah. Most of the wait was due to me just not knowing what to do with this chapter. Going into it, I had no idea what the story of it would be. So, I just kind of rolled along with what was in my head, and this chapter was born.)  
-The poll results are as follows:  
9 votes- Daichi  
8 votes- Masahide, Eiko, Kiyoshi, Ryota  
6 votes- Haniji, Sugita  
4 votes- Ace  
3 votes- Monokuma (dies of laughter) Okay, what would I even do if there was a whole chapter dedicated to Monokuma?! "I sat there in my office, drinking martinis and watching every episode of Full House…and then POW! Right in the kisser!" …This means I have to do one now, doesn't it…  
2 votes- Akira  
1 vote- Elena  
This really tells me a lot. Who I should focus on more, and who I should give a little less of the spotlight. As you noticed, I didn't include our protagonist in the results because…well, we've already seen enough of him.  
-Just a heads up: after reading it through, more like skimming it, I realized how much cussing this chapter has. It's a lot. More than even I'm comfortable with. If that language isn't really your thing, then reader's discretion is advised.  
-HAPPY DESPAIRING~!**

* * *

*bzzzzzt*

"Good morning, students! It's seven in the morning! Time to get up! Let's all strive to do our best today!"

*bzzzzzt*

*knocknocknocknocknocknocknocknocknocknocknocknocknocknocknocknock*

_No…No…Please…No…Not this early in the morning…I swear to god-_

"Okada-kuuuuun! I know you're in there!" Ace called through the door, continuing to loudly bang on it. "Okada-kun, please answer me! I need to see that beautiful face of yours! Okada-kun!"

…_Shit._

Daichi didn't know why he couldn't just get up, get ready, and leave his room, more precisely the room that he shared with one of his fellow students, without being disturbed by anyone. But ever since the trial that had taken place a couple of days beforehand, Ace just wouldn't leave the mercenary alone.

At first, Daichi just thought it was a temporary thing. The next day, he would be crawling back to Kuno, who he usually bothered. However, based on how things were going, that wouldn't be the case. Now that he thought about it, it might _never _be the case for as long as both of them are still there.

"Okada-kun! I've been waiting out here for an hour, just for you! Please answer the door…Okada-kun!" Ace continued, not ceasing his harsh banging of the door.

…_So he's been waiting out there for an hour? Just to see me first thing in the morning? That's…that's just not healthy._

"Okada-kun! Okada-kun, please don't keep me waiting! There is a big day ahead for the both of us!"

The thing Daichi wanted to do the most right then and there was to scream at the nuisance that continued knocking on his door to shut it, but he knew in the back of his mind that it wouldn't be appropriate.

Besides, Eiko was in the bed next to him, and he didn't want to wake her up. If Ace banging on the door hadn't woken her up already, at least.

"Okada-kun? Are you alright?" Ace asked, sounding legitimately concerned for what state Daichi was in at that moment.

"Ace, please. I'm, uh, busy," Daichi finally replied in an attempt to lie. He really didn't feel like carrying Ace around on his back all day, no matter how much he pounded on the door.

"You're not busy, Okada-kun! You're just sitting on your bed!"

"…You can't even see me, Ace. How are you-"

"Oh, that. I made a little peephole in your door, just so I'm lucky enough to see your face every morning!" Ace said in a rather unsettling tone. "But I made sure to make it small enough so I wouldn't have to lay eyes on that piece of garbage next to you. Isn't that convenient, Okada-kun?"

"N-No, it's not! It's just annoying at this point."

"…Come on, Okada-kun! We have to go!"

"Go _where_?"

"To the cafeteria, where we always go. It would be a shame if we were late."

"Since when are you so eager to meet up with the people you hate the most?"

"It doesn't matter as long as I'm next to you, Okada-kun."

After a few seconds of eerie silence, Eiko abruptly started moving around in her bed, groaning. She held a pillow against her head to try and block out what the two were saying. "If you guys are going to have a whole conversation…you can go out there. I have no part in this," she stated, her words muffled by the blanket that covered her head.

"I-I apologize, Eiko," Daichi replied, feeling bad for waking up his roommate. He didn't want to get her upset that early in the morning, at least more upset than she already was with all of the things she was going through.

"..." Eiko suddenly sat up from her bed, the pillow she had over her face falling to the floor. "Who is that at the door, anyway?"

"Nothing, it's just-"

"Okada-kun! Hurry up, if you don't mind! Is that piece of trash keeping you from seeing me on purpose?!" Ace yelled through the door, kicking it harder than what was necessary.

Eiko let out an exasperated sigh, falling back into a lying-down position. "Don't tell me he's going to be at our door _every single morning_."

"Unfortunately…it doesn't look like he'll ever leave," Daichi muttered in agitation.

"OKADA-KUN, PLEASE! Are you avoiding me or something?"

"…Yes. Now leave."

* * *

*bzzzzzt*

"Good morning, students! It's seven in the morning! Time to get up! Let's all strive to do our best today!"

*bzzzzzt*

It wasn't a surprise that Haniji was already gone when Kuno was awoken by the morning announcement.

After Kuno thought she was unnecessarily being quite rude last night, it was no shocker that she wasn't in her bed. At that time, he assumed that she and Masahide had already met up somewhere.

Haniji acted really different when Masahide wasn't with her. Maybe that was just how she usually acted before she met him, but regardless, when she wasn't with her friend, she could be kind of a jerk.

Aside from his roommate's disappearance, Kuno already had enough on his mind to keep him from worrying about Haniji that much. In fact, he had barely gotten any sleep that night because of how much thinking he was doing.

He tried to brush off all of these thoughts, but they just kept coming back to him. The previous day, he thought he was going insane because of what thoughts were going through his head.

Kuno didn't really feel like going to the cafeteria that morning, but he felt as if it was his duty to. He came every day, with the exception of one for obvious reasons, and he knew that someone like Elena would immediately start freaking out if he didn't show up.

He had no reason not to go, but then again, he had no reason _to _go.

…_I really don't feel like going today…_

_Now that I think about it, I don't even feel like making the effort to stand up._

_What's the point of this? I know it isn't like me to be acting like this, but I kind of have no choice. I feel like I'm being forced to be in a shitty mood._

…_Ugh, fuck it. Why not._

After doing his usual morning routine, which included simply getting ready and things like that, Kuno reluctantly started heading to the usual morning meeting place.

_Remind me why I'm doing this?_

…_Yeah, why am I going to the cafeteria in the first place?_

_There's no real point to this at all. I should just go back…_

_Ugh…_

_What am I thinking? Am I okay?!_

_There's no way I would just leave my friends like that! What if…_

_What if something happened to one of them? What if Monokuma gave out a motive, and then…_

_No, he said it was too early for a motive. Then…what have I got to worry about? If no one gets…y'know, murdered, then it's okay to be laidback for the time being. _

_So, in short, I _don't _have to go to the cafeteria today…_

…_WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME?!_

"Hey, Kuno? You alright, man?"

While having his little conflict in his head, Kuno was completely oblivious to the fact that someone was watching the scene he had unintentionally put on for them.

"U-Uh…yeah, Ryota, I'm fine…" Kuno replied with a sigh, not really in the mood to have a conversation with anyone. It was refreshing to see that Ryota was okay and in good shape, but seeing Kuno so distraught was a little troublesome.

"You don't look fine. You're kind of…red."

"A-Am I?"

"No one poisoned you again right? I'm sure there were some of those poisons that could make you turn different colors…"

_Hmm, Ryota seems unusually…'upbeat' right now. I would expect him to be a lot less than in a good mood, considering everything that has happened to him in the last couple of days, but…this just doesn't seem right._

"I don't think anyone poisoned me. Well, not as far as I know." Kuno had the urge to ask Ryota how he was doing, but he didn't want his friend to get upset this early in the morning. Asking how someone is feeling doesn't help their situation at all, especially if the situation is a recent murder. "…Do I, uh, really look _that _red?"

"…Yeah. It's bad. Are you sure you aren't okay?"

"…Y-Yeah, sure. I'm just…red. A-And a little, uh, just, uh…tired. I'm tired."

* * *

It was a rarity for the cafeteria to actually be filled.

Usually, it was a given that someone would be missing. Whether it was someone being abducted for mysterious reasons by Monokuma, someone simply not wanting to socialize with any of their fellow students, someone going through what Kuno had to endure on the fifth day, or…the unthinkable happening, there was always someone missing.

That being said, there was a strange feeling fluttering around when Kuno walked in to the cafeteria, only to be greeted by all ten of his other friends.

Even though it was a nice occurrence to see that everyone had shown up, Kuno had other things on his mind. Internal conflicts, to be precise. There was just something going on with his head. Something that was driving the poor espionage insane. Unfortunately, for the most part, he had no idea what that feeling was. Whatever it was, though, it had the power to turn Kuno a bright and noticeable shade of red, as about everyone had noticed.

Kuno wearily wobbled over to the table where Elena was sitting, where the ringleader welcomed her friend with a shining smile. He knew that she probably wasn't going to be someone who would judge him for how he looked, how he acted, or whatever the hell was going on in his troubled head.

"Mornin', Kuno!" Elena greeted happily, her bubbly demeanor intact. She was still smiling at Kuno, who didn't give her any kind of verbal response. He simply nodded, in fear of what he would botch up if he tried to speak. He was tired, cloudy-minded, and almost unsociable at the moment.

Elena, being her motherly self, immediately took notice of Kuno's state, her smile slowly fading into a straight face. "Huh, you don't look good," she noted, putting her hand on Kuno's shoulder. He flinched at that, but instantly regretted it, not knowing why he was so jumpy.

"S-Sorry, I…"

"Are you okay, Kuno? You look sick or something. Well, not the typical sick, 'cause you don't look that green. You look more-"

"Red. Yes, I know. You're the third person to say that," Kuno retorted with a heavy sigh. He still didn't know why all of those thoughts were making him so irritable, but they weren't making him any friendlier.

"Oh…I'm sorry. Didn't mean to offend you or anything…" Elena replied apologetically, palming her face. "You just seemed a little, I dunno, _not usual you_."

"I know, I just, uh, I…It's nothing."

At that moment, Elena could have said the usual response. _It's obviously something_. But why anger her friend even further? He was already tomato-red, so there was no point in making him any redder. "Mmhmm…" was all that the ringleader could muster as she fiddled with her hair, sort of feeling let down. She tried her best to sound the least sarcastic she could, but she came off as rude, and she knew it.

But she couldn't do anything. All she could do was blow up at her bangs and watch them lift off of her eyes. Talking to Kuno wasn't an option, since he was having some sort of mental issue. And not being able to talk made her extremely bored, so she just sat there in her own little world.

Little worlds don't last for long, though, because black and white bears can pop up and invade them.

"Upupupupu!" the bear chuckled, its paws covering its mouth. "I can _clearly _tell how much you guys are totally digging this whole 'roommates' thing! Admit it, you love it, don't you!"

"…Love it?" Akira snapped at Monokuma from across the room, distanced from all of the other students as she always was. "Are you freaking kidding me?!"

"I don't kid, Ms. Yamashita! I meant what I said, and I said what I meant, a bear is faithful one hundred percent!" Monokuma proudly stated, probably referencing something that none of his students could put a finger on.

"Well, you're wrong about two things! One, you're a dirty lying piece of shit," Akira said with frustration, counting the reasons off on her fingers, "And two, this 'roommates' thing is a thousand times worse that watching all of these idiots get killed!"

"You don't have to exaggerate it that much…" Eiko muttered, giving a sideways glance to Akira from afar. "It's not really that bad, at least in my opinion."

"A-And there's nothing worse than watching all of these guys die!" Masahide pointed out.

"Oh really? Have any of you even _tried _sharing a room with Masahide?!" Akira growled, calling out the young ping pong master. "It's torture! The worst kind of torture! You can murder all you want, I don't give a shit! Whatever it is, it's not nearly as bad as being forced to spend every night with that imbecile!"

"Hey! I'm not an imbecile!" Masahide shouted back, the blush marks on his cheeks beginning to get pinker and pinker. "And I'm not even that bad of a roommate!" Anyone could tell that Masahide wasn't very good at being angry. He was so used to being his usual outgoing and childish self that it seemed like he was joking when he tried to offend anyone. "Y-Yeah! I'm not that bad! Uh…Ask Haniji!"

"Don't involve me…" Haniji said with a roll of her eyes.

"But you know that I'm not that bad of a roommate!"

"…"

"Hey, guys? Remember me? Monokuma? The one who was TALKING TO YOU BEFORE BEING SO RUDELY INTERRUPTED?" Monokuma yelled angrily, its bolt-shaped red eye rapidly flashing. "STOP IGNORING ME! I'M AN IMPORTANT ASSET TO THIS! I AM THE MASCOT! I-"

"That's one person! I can't just believe what one measly fourteen-year-old has to say about you!" Akira argued, completely disregarding Monokuma's sudden outburst.

"Measly, huh…" Haniji sneered, twirling her paintbrush in between her fingers. "You're just jealous of me…"

"Jealous?! HA! There's no way I'd be jealous of a clueless creepo kid like you!" Akira said with a fit of laughter.

"I AM MONOKUMA! HOW DARE YOU IGNORE ME?! I AM YOUR HEADMA-"

"Can you all just stop fighting before someone gets hurt?!" Eiko pleaded, nervously glancing at the two females who were having an argument. One of them was probably on the verge of exploding, but the other one kept a rather calm composure, most likely building up all of her rage inside. "We're just going back to what we used to do! There's no reason for all of these needless fights!"

"GOD DAMNIT! JUST LISTEN TO ME FOR _ONE SECOND_!" Monokuma shouted, its tone of anger with a hint of desperation.

"You…trashy bastards…" Ace indignantly hissed under his breath. "All of you _unlucky_ dipshits are just a waste of my precious space…there's no point for any of you to waste your breath on pointless arguments." The only thing that made Ace appear a little less frightening was the fact that he was leaning his head on Daichi's shoulder, trying to grab the mercenary's hand.

Daichi was of course uncomfortable with what Ace was doing, but he knew he couldn't really do anything about it. Once the gambler clung on to him, there was no getting him off, no matter how hard he tried.

"Just shut up, you moron!" Akira snarled. "At least you're lucky enough to have a semi-irritating roommate! Keep your luck and shit out of this!"

"…Semi-irritating?" Elena mumbled with a sigh. "Better than fully-irritating, but-"

"S-So, you're saying I'm irritating now?" Masahide said to Akira, rolling his eyes. "I thought we weren't talking about that anymore! Go back to yelling at someone else or something, like you usually do."

"I HAVE REASONS TO BE YELLING AT EVERYONE YOU IDIOT!" Akira screeched, her temper being lost more than it usually was. Her yells were usually only a little ear-splitting, but at any moment, her throat would probably give out from all of her agitated shouting

"…I'm really about to give up on this…" Eiko sighed, picking at her frilly white headband. "You're all impossible…"

"I feel ya, sister," Monokuma muttered, disappointed by his students' behavior. "This is _not _how a bunch of super high school level students like you should act! You should all be ashamed of yourselves for your actions. And to think that one huge argument could start after I say one sentence! If I could punish all of you, I could!"

"There's no one stopping you, Monokuma," Ace sneered, pulling his beanie over his eyes with his free hand (the one that wasn't wrapped around Daichi's). "You can go ahead and punish everyone. I don't mind…just keep Okada-kun and Okura-sama alive."

"You don't seem to understand, do you, Mr. Grayson? I also have a strict set of rules to follow as your headmaster. Number one is that only up to two students can be killed or punished at a time!" Monokuma responded informatively. "Number two is something about not being able to bring my 'personal belongings' with me or something like that…Aw well, I only follow the first rule, then. I'll have you know that I brought my whole collection of antique martini glasses with me!"

"Then punish two of these filthy bastards each day, and everyone will be satisfied," Ace continued. "I say you should start with…the whore wearing the sunglasses."

"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?!" Akira barked, her voice cracking. "I'M NOT JUST A WHORE WITH SUNGLASSES! I'M NOT EVEN A WHORE AT ALL!"

"That's what you think…" Haniji said, picking at her skin. "…You're nothing but a dirty whore…"

"WILL YOU GUYS JUST STOP ALREADY?!" Monokuma raised its voice, stomping its foot on the ground. "You know what?! I'm sick of all of this fighting! It's no fun, especially not for me! Spectating all of this shit isn't nearly as enjoyable as it sounds in your foolish heads! ALL OF YOU NEED HELP!"

"The only thing I need help with…is ridding of that whore…" Haniji stated.

"This is what I mean! All of your emotions are bottled up so tightly in your tiny brains!" The bear resumed, starting to get angrier as each second flew by. "That's why you all need help! You need help _mentally_!"

"I don't need any of your damn mental help!" Akira shouted towards Monokuma. "I'm speaking for all of us when I say that! …Except for Kuno. He really needs some help with his head."

"I haven't even said anything yet, and I'm already being targeted," Kuno moaned, messing with his watch.

"Anyway…YOU NEED HELP FIGURING OUT YOUR PROBLEMS! That's why, for today's activity, we're all going to have a big counseling session! Upupupu!"

…_Counseling session? Does he mean, like, guidance counseling?_

"You all need to be counseled in order to resolve your mental issues! That's why, later today, _I _will be your guidance counselor! It's like something you would actually do if you weren't in the school of despair, but in a regular low-class institution!"

The ultimate reaction to this announcement was annoyance. All Monokuma did effectively at this point was annoy the life out of his students. Yes, they were all still terrified of the bear, but it barely outweighed the nonsensical annoyance of him.

"Meet me here at one o'clock sharp! If you're even one millisecond late, I'll devise a punishment specifically for that person! I'll see you guys around! Upupupu!"

* * *

_There's still something wrong with me…_

_And now Monokuma's making us have a whole group counseling thing?_

_I don't exactly know what we'll have to do there, but…_

_I know people are going to have to talk about things they don't want to._

_Including me._

* * *

Before the dreaded counseling session began, the students had quite a lot of time to themselves.

However, due to the tension that was rising between all of them, they decided that avoiding each other for the time being would be the best option. It was incredibly tedious for all of them to just sit in their rooms like that, with their almost incompatible roommates, and wait for the counseling to start.

They didn't just sit there in silence, though. As expected, you could hear the designer and the ping pong master yelling at each other as long as you were on the first floor, even if you were all the way on the other end of the entire floor. There was nothing in that whole school that could stop their endless bickering. Even if Monokuma popped up out of nowhere and threatened to punish the two of them, it wouldn't matter. They hated every single thing about each other, and that was that.

On the other end of the spectrum, Kuno and Haniji couldn't bear to say one single sentence, not even one word, to each other. They sat there in their room, an awkward silence filling the air. The only reason Haniji didn't leave to go be by Masahide's side, like she usually did, was because of Akira. She didn't want to get involved with the designer again, and after her rude comments to the painter, Haniji was absolutely through with her. Kuno, on the other hand, was still having his little internal conflict. He would be thinking a whole bunch of things, pleasant and unpleasant, and would be turning redder every second. Haniji knew better than to even try to question him about anything, because she would never get anything remotely close to an answer that wasn't 'it's nothing'.

It wasn't known why Ace hated his roommate so much. Elena never did anything wrong, at least anything that concerned the gambler. All Ace did for the rest of those long hours was complain about how much he'd rather be with Daichi or Kuno instead of Elena. Elena could barely stand listening to Ace without wanting to flip out on him, but she knew that it wouldn't be appropriate to do that. She was one of the ones who was always trying to get everyone back together, after all. She would occasionally ask Ace why he would act that way, but he wouldn't give her a clear response. Ace, every few minutes, would go and bang on Daichi's door for a while, and then come back to the room with a saddened look.

It wasn't that Daichi and Eiko didn't like each other. They were fond of each other and never really fought, and neither of them thought anything bad about the other. They were just really unsociable with each other. They couldn't hold a conversation for their lives, and could only sit there in uncomfortable silence. The only thing that didn't involve the two sitting there in silence was when Ace would come every few minutes and start pounding on the door and calling for Daichi. Daichi wouldn't respond to him, since he preferred not to be annoyed.

The same went for Kiyoshi and Ryota. They didn't really talk to each other, and it's not like they could. Kiyoshi was quite socially awkward, and bad at talking to people he wasn't very comfortable with. Ryota just wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. There were a lot of reasons why he enjoyed keeping his mouth shut, and Kiyoshi wasn't the type who would pressure someone into talking.

That left Sugita all by herself. Even though she was usually the social butterfly, since everyone else appeared to be on the edge, those long hours were considered her 'alone time'. Even she needed time by herself. With that in mind, she headed to the arcade all by herself and distracted herself there. She had mixed feelings about that room on the third floor, but it was better than trying to talk to anyone. It wasn't like she was completely comfortable there, however. After all, she wouldn't want to be the target of a kidnapping in an arcade again. She would always contact Ryunosuke when she would 'run away' from home, and since she didn't tell him that one day, it was a sort of miracle that he was able to call the police in time. She was a little bit paranoid that Monokuma would pop up and do something imbecilic, so she stayed alert for anyone coming in.

And now, since it was nearing one o'clock, they all had to start heading towards the cafeteria before one of them was punished.

It didn't take long for all of them to show up. They all arrived around the same time at about five minutes before one o'clock. The only one who came a tad late was Sugita, who entered a mere two minutes before the deadline.

The students sat in chairs arranged in a circle, with an ominous black-and-white colored throne in the center of it.

Of course, sitting in that royal throne was everyone's favorite black-and-white bear. He didn't look like his usual self, however. Somehow, he appeared to look more serious and casual than he usually did. He held a clipboard in one paw and a pen in the other.

"Welcome, my incompetent students, to Monokuma's Counseling Session!" Monokuma announced, proudly thrusting its pen in the air.

"None of us fucking asked for this shit," Akira muttered angrily, leaning back into her seat, throwing her head back. "I'm not telling any of these guys one damn thing. You got that, bear?!"

"Allow me to explain the rules of this important session!" Monokuma continued, completely disregarding Akira's rude comment. "First let me get into my…_serious voice! Okay, that's much better. Here are the rules- The purpose of this session is to make all of you guys learn more about each other, just so it's more heart-wrenching when the next murder happens! With the spin of my pen, it will land on the student who will share their feelings first. I will ask a series of questions to this student, and they must answer each one to the best of their ability. If they don't answer or their answer is complete bullshit, the student will be punished accordingly. After I am done asking questions to that student, any student has the power to comment on anything they just heard, or share their general thoughts on the person that spoke. However, since I have no time to be wasted, I can only do ten students today, so one student will be safe from the counseling session and won't have to answer any of the questions. And those are the rules!"_

"Um, question?" Eiko asked, raising her hand. "By, um, 'punished accordingly', do you mean-"

"_The level of severity of the punishment depends on how much bullshit their answer to the question contains_," Monokuma explained, its 'serious voice' still intact.

"Bullshit…this is bullshit, bullshit, BULLSHIT!" Akira cried, kicking the leg of the chair next to her.

"_Let the session begin! Upupupu!" _

Monokuma threw its pen onto the floor as he hopped down from his throne. He placed its paw on it and gave it a hard spin.

_Please don't be me…don'tbemedon'tbemedon'tbemedon'tbemedon'tbeme_… Kuno silently pleaded, almost resorting to praying. He knew that he would have to give everyone some sort of honest answer, but he certainly didn't want to be the first one to be embarrassed. He hoped that he would be the lucky one that didn't have to tell anyone anything.

After what seemed like an eternity, the pen finally slowed to a stop. After spinning around one more final time, it ceased moving. Its point was faced towards its first victim.

"_So our first student that will be sharing today is Miss Eiko Watanabe! Upupupupu!_"

"Huh?! I mean…no! I'd really rather not does this right now, uh…" Eiko was losing her usual calm composure. Just like everyone else in the room, she didn't want to tell anyone about her feelings.

All of the other students let out a sigh of relief, even though most of them felt bad for Eiko.

"_First question- what is one word that you could use to describe your general feelings_?" Monokuma asked the veterinarian, prepping to jot something down on its clipboard.

"…Do I really have to?"

"_Did you not hear the rules?!_"

"Ngh! You're right, I…" Eiko flinched at being yelled at like that by the bear, but she had to comply unless she desired to be punished. "I-I guess…Well, um, there's not really one word I could use. I'm paranoid, terrified, a whole bunch of things…"

"_I SAID TO USE ONE WORD, MS. WATANABE!_"

"Okay! Okay! I'm just afraid, okay?!"

"_Hmm, I see…" _Monokuma quickly wrote something down on its clipboard, humming to himself. "_Question two- Why are you feeling that way? Have any past or recent events influenced those feelings?_"

"…" Eiko was visibly shaken up. She was noticeably uncomfortable with the sudden interrogation, especially since it was coming from a murderous and sadist teddy bear threatening to execute all of them.

"_I ASKED YOU A QUESTION, MS. WATANABE!_"

"Ngh! I mean…It's just…A lot of horrible things have been happening, you know…I'm just afraid that it's all going to happen again. And since I was involved in it, I…I just don't feel safe around these guys anymore. I n-never know when someone could just walk up to me and poison me again!" Eiko was slowly starting to raise her voice, getting more torn up. "I-It's already happened twice to two different people, a-and…to have someone I trusted do that to me? I just can't-"

"_I see. Now, answer the other part of the question_," Monokuma interrupted. He didn't seem to be listening to Eiko all that much. "_Any recent or past events or whatever?_"

"…I don't really think I have to mention the obvious, do I…" Eiko took a pause before she spoke again, probably trying to contain her anger. "I-I mean, uh…I'm used to having to be all paranoid. Not knowing when I would get hit or something…b-but that doesn't matter. I-I'm just…I'm done."

"…_Fair enough. Final question- What is your opinion on all of the other students?_"

Despite tears starting to well up in Eiko's eyes, that question wasn't nearly as painstakingly tough to answer as the other two. She wasn't really the best liar in the world, but it's not like she had a strong distasteful opinion on any of them.

"Um…I-I guess they're all good people. I think they all have something good…even if they don't want to sh-"

"_TIME'S UP! I'm bored with you. Okay, who wants share their thoughts on Ms. Watanabe over there?_"

"I wasn't done yet, Monokuma! You can't just interrupt me like that!"

"_WELL I'M SICK OF BEING INTERRUPTED BY ALL OF YOU BASTARDS! …Ahem. So, are any of you going to share your opinions or thoughts? What do you think of Ms. Watanabe?"_

"Yeah, I've got a thing or two to say to you!" Akira said, perking up from her slumped position.

"_Then share it, damn it! No one's stopping you_!"

"Sure thing! First off, Eiko, you're an idiot. Second, you're a fucking bitch. Third-"

"_Okay! Time for the next sharing!_" Monokuma interrupted. He didn't want to hear any more of Akira's nonsensical shaming of Eiko. Not that the bear even cared about anyone's feelings being hurt, but Akira's voice was really a bother to listen to. Besides, all of the students had the same opinion. They were quite relieved that Akira wasn't going to speak again for a long time.

Almost immediately, that relief turned into horrid fear, as Monokuma spun his pen.

"_Boy oh boy! This is getting exciting! Who will be the _one to- God damn it, I need to get back into my…s_erious voice! Much better! Upupupu!_"

Kuno wasn't really thinking about being chosen at the moment. He was thinking more about what Eiko just told them more than anything else. _Why is she so paranoid of us? I don't think anyone else here would ever try to poison anyone again. But one thing is really sticking in my mind…what did she mean by 'Not knowing when I would get hit'? Hmm, I'll have to ask her about that later. For now, I guess, I should be worried about the pen._

After unusually long and suspenseful seconds, the pen finally came to a stop. The next person it landed on was…

"_Shit! It landed on Eiko again!_" Monokuma said with disappointment. "_Eh, it was bound to happen. Eiko, get out of the circle. You're free to stand over there in the back and listen in…or you can leave. It doesn't matter; I don't really give a shit!_"

"…" Without a word, Eiko stood up from her seat. She trudged over to the nearest wall and leaned back on it, folding her arms. She kept her eyes locked on the circle where all of the other students sat, listening in on whatever they were sharing.

"…_Let's try this shit again! Upupupu!" _Monokuma kicked the tip of the pen, causing it to spin. Because of the minimal force that was supplied by the kick, it only spun for less than one full second. It landed on a different student, however, and that's all that mattered.

"…You've gotta be fucking kidding me right now…"

"_Our second student that will be sharing today is Mister Kiyoshi Nakashima! Heh, it's a good thing it landed on you, you fucking prick!"_

"…?!"

"_I'm joking, I'm joking! Man, am I the best guidance counselor or what? Question one- what is one word that you could use to describe your general feelings?_"

Despite previously cursing, Kiyoshi was unsettlingly laidback about the whole situation. If he was angry or confused, he didn't express it on his face. He sported more of an annoyed look, since he didn't feel like answering any of Monokuma's questions.

"_ANSWER THE FUCKING QUESTION MR. NAKASHIMA!_"

"…I'd say I'm fine," Kiyoshi said nonchalantly, cracking his knuckles. "Is that what you want to hear?"

"WE ALL HAVE TO GO THROUGH THIS HELL TOO, SO GIVE US SOMETHING MORE BROAD THAN 'FINE', YOU DIPSHIT!" Akira snapped, glaring at the boxer.

"…" Kiyoshi was speechless at that moment. The thing he hated most was being the center of attention, and all ten of his students, and Monokuma in addition, were staring at him, waiting for a better answer than 'fine'. They wanted him to talk, and that's something he couldn't do very well, at least in his opinion. "…I-I'm good, I guess."

"…_*sigh* That's all we're getting out of that guy. Question two- Why are you feeling that way? Have any past or recent events influenced those feelings?_"

"…Influenced feeling 'fine'? I dunno…" Kiyoshi shrugged, slumping back into his chair.

"_OPEN UP TO YOUR CLASMATES! MAKE IT SO IT STINGS IN THEIR HARDS AFTER YOUR UNTIMELY DEATH!_" Monokuma shouted at Kiyoshi, throwing his clipboard on the ground in frustration. "_YOU HAVE TO HAVE S_OME _KIND OF TRAGIC BACKSTORY!_"

"…There's nothing really that interesting."

"_LIES! That's a blatant lie, Mr. Nakashima! Didn't one of your family members, like, die? And then you got really pissed off?_"

"How do you know this stu-"

"_QUESTION THREE- What is your opinion on all of the other students?_"

"…" Kiyoshi was already ticked enough that the bear brought up his sister, but he couldn't just refuse to answer any of the other questions. "…They're all fine."

"_TIME'S UP! You're really annoying, you know that? Okay, who wants share their thoughts on Mr. Nakashima over there?_"

"I've got a few things to say!" Akira snapped, suddenly perking up again. "You have, like, no personality whatsoever. You're almost as bland as that asshole Kuno!"

"…What did I even do?" Kuno wondered aloud, holding his head in his hand.

"That's because you don't even know him," Daichi said sternly, running his hand through his hair. "You can't make up all of these negative opinions on people you don't make the effort to get to know."

"…Asshole…" Akira muttered with a roll of her eyes.

Without a cue, Kiyoshi got up from his seat. He speedily walked over to where Eiko was standing, acknowledging her with a nod, and he sat down on the floor, knees pulled up to his chest. Eiko willingly sat down as well, banging her head on the back of the wall.

"_Now that that's over, time for the pen of fate to take its spin!" _Monokuma announced.

Once again, Kuno wasn't focused on the pen, but he was thinking about the student that had just shared. _Well, that doesn't really change anything. He doesn't like talking to a lot of us, so it makes sense why he was so vague. But the thing that Monokuma said…'Didn't one of your family members, like, die?'… It's likely that he won't talk to me about it, but I should ask Kiyoshi about that later._

The pen came to an abrupt stop, landing on its next victim.

"_Our third student that will be sharing today is Miss Haniji Tahame!_"

"…"

"_Question one- what is one word that you could use to describe your general feelings?_"

"…" Haniji didn't feel like wasting her time with Monokuma's pointless questions. They wouldn't benefit her, and it wouldn't benefit any of her other fellow students. In her mind, all of them were below her, and they didn't deserve to know any aspects of her past life, how she felt, and why she felt that way. She felt how she felt, and that was that. "…Superior," she finally answered, picking at her skin.

"Oh, so you're supposed to expect us to know what you fucking mean by that?!" Akira snarled, becoming unnecessarily angry at Haniji's answer.

"Hey, don't interrupt her! She's a lot more superior than you, that's for sure," Masahide pointed out, pulling at his baseball cap. "Definitely in smarts, looks, being a roommate…"

"_CAN YOU ALL JUST SHUT UP FOR ONE SECOND?! Question two- Why are you feeling that way? Have any past or recent events influenced those feelings?"_

Haniji paused for a moment, as if she was digging up something from deep within her mind to use as a response. After a few seconds, she finally got it. "They tell me I take it too seriously. In reality, I only paint what I'm feeling. They'd…scold me for what I'd do. But I didn't care. I kept on painting. But they weren't as smart as me…" She twirled her paintbrush around in her fingers as she said that, appearing to be lost in thought.

…_That sounds really familiar. Too familiar. Isn't that…what she said when we first met? So she just completely reused her dialogue? Well, after she said that, I have a vague memory of her walking off because I was offending her…_

"Yeah, but that doesn't tell us anything about you, bitch!" Akira snapped. No one knew why she was so eager for an answer from the young painter…at least an answer that satisfied her.

"…Memories are bullets…Some whiz by and only spook you…Others tear you open and leave you in pieces."

Akira looked at the painter with wide and confused eyes. "The fuck…?"

"_Question three- what is your opinion on all of the other students?_"

"…Low. That's all I have to say…" Haniji said softly, looking down at the ground.

"_TIME'S UP! Damn, someone here is a total creepo! Alright, who wants to share their thoughts on Ms. Tahame over there?_"

Akira was the first to speak up. That seemed to be the running theme during the whole counseling session. "I'll gladly say a few things! First off, you're really fucking creepy. Second, what the hell are you wearing? That's, like, an abomination to fashion itself! And then-"

"Just shut up, Akira!" Masahide was quick to defend Haniji, who wasn't even paying attention to what Masahide was saying. In fact, she was already standing up from her seat and retreating the scene. She didn't join Eiko and Kiyoshi, who were quietly sitting together by the wall. She simply left, the door thudding hard behind her.

"_Oooooooooooooooooooookay then! You know the drill! The pen does the spin thing, blah blah blah, let's just get this shit over with!_"

_Haniji really does puzzle me. One moment, she's completely minding her own business, and then the next, she's going on and on about how she's 'superior' to everyone. It's really strange…too bad she's adamant on never telling me anything._

After what seemed like a lifetime, the pen finally slowed to a stop, landing on the next victim of Monokuma's questions.

"_Our fourth student that will be sharing today is Mister Ryota Suzuki!_"

"Ugh, dammit…" Ryota muttered under his breath, leaning back into his chair. "Just get this over with, if you don't mind."

"_If you say so, Mr. Suzuki! Alright! Question one- what is one word that you could use to describe your general feelings?_" Monokuma scooped up its clipboard and pen from the ground, once again preparing to take notes.

"…Fucked up."

"_I SAID ONE DAMN WORD! DO YOU WANNA BE PUNISHED OR WHAT?!_"

"Then put a hyphen between it or something. That'll make it one word," Ryota deadpanned, sounding a lot less enthusiastic than he usually was. Sure, he was careless, but it seemed like something had been drained out of him. "Just do the next question."

"…_Are you from Europe, Mr. Suzuki?_"

"Why…?"

"_BECAUSE EUROPIECEOFSHIT! STOP GIVING ME ALL OF THOSE SHITTY ANSWERS BEFORE YOU GET PUNISHED! Ahem, question two- Why are you feeling that way? Have any past or recent events influenced those feelings?_"

"Because my life is 'fucked-up'. Next question."

"ANSWER THE QUESTION WITH HONESTY! Aw, man, I'm losing my serious voice! I have to get it back! …_Okay, much better. NOW ANSWER!_"

Ryota sighed heavily, scratching the back of his head. "It's always been shit. There are reasons for everything, but it's not like I'm gonna explain it in full detail."

"…_To hell with this. Question thr-"_

"They're all cool. Got no one to really talk to, but they're fine."

"…_We still have six more of these bastards to go through, don't we…*sigh* Spin the pen, blabbity blah…I'm really starting to regret this whole thing._"

Ryota, rolling his eyes, got up from his seat and left the room, muttering something inaudible from everyone else's position in the room.

Monokuma, with an expression of sheer disappointment, threw the pen on the ground. He gave it an effortless kick, which made it shift about one inch, but it landed on the next person.

"…_Our fifth student that will be sharing today is Miss Akira Yamashita! Finally, someone who isn't a complete stick in the mud!_"

"…" Akira couldn't really say anything. She didn't have the energy to yell anymore, and she certainly didn't want to waste anything she had left on Monokuma. All she could do was roll along with it. It wasn't her style, but it was better than being punished.

"_Question one- what is one word that you could use to describe your general feelings?_"

"Pissed." Her way of answering was quick and sharp, like she had no time to lose.

"_Question two- Why are you feeling that way? Have any past or recent events influenced those feelings?_"

"Because all of these bastards piss me off. Every single one of them…And no 'past or recent events' or shit life that have anything to do with it."

"_Question three- what is your opinion on all of the other students?_"

"…" Akira's face lit up, as if there was actually something insightful she had to enlighten upon her fellow students. "I've got some things to say, alright…Here's the gist of it- YOU'RE ALL PIECES OF-"

No one could bear to listen what Akira had to say about them with her foul mouth. Most of them covered their ears as she talked, using every single curse word in the book.

"…And THAT'S what I have to say. Thank you very much."

* * *

**I'm splitting this section into two parts. It's getting really long (25 pages holy shit), and I'd hate for all of you two go through five more of these things in one sitting. I guess you could call this 'free time', I don't really know…Aw well. I also wanted to get it up because I'll be busy tomorrow, and I wouldn't be able to post it then.  
HAPPY DESPAIRING~!**


	23. Monokuma Counseling: Part 2

**BEFORE THE CHAPTER BEGINS:  
-Really, the support has been absolutely amazing. All of these great reviews have been keeping me motivated to write, contrary to my usual lazy self. I really appreciate everything you guys have done. Thank you so much!  
-(edit on 7/17/15) Yeah, hehehe…sorry about the wait. Again. It's a bad thing when you're stuck on page two and have no idea what you're going to do for the rest of the chapter. And, well…Aw, I'm not gonna spoil anything for you guys.  
-(edit on 7/19/15) Y'KNOW WHAT?! WRITERS BLOCK IS THE WORST THING ON EARTH. I'VE BEEN STUCK ON PAGE TWO FOR ABOUT A WEEK NOW, AND NOTHING'S GETTING BETTER. I feel like I need a beta reader or something as well, because Microsoft Word 2010 is really bad at everything.  
-(edit on 7/20/15) I apologize for the wait. Half of it was actually being legitimately busy, while the other half was WRITERS BLOCK WHICH IS GOING TO BE THE DEATH OF ME. Oh, also, later on in this chapter, 'Warui Uma' in Japanese is 'Bad Horse' in English. Wonder if anyone will actually get that reference…aw well, probably not.  
-As of the 14****th****, the poll changed again.  
10- Daichi  
9- Eiko, Kiyoshi, Ryota  
8- Masahide  
7- Ace, Sugita  
6- Haniji  
3- Monokuma  
2- Akira  
1- Elena  
-HAPPY DESPAIRING~!  
-**_**NEW POLL IN MY PROFILE!**_

* * *

"…And THAT'S what I have to say. Thank you very much."

_It really surprises me how many 'colorful' words Akira knows. Hmm, maybe it has something to do with how she was raised…? Well, one thing is for sure. She's never gonna tell me._

"Wh-What the hell was that?!" Eiko stammered from across the room, shaken by Akira's colorful speech. "That's the most inappropriate thing I've ever heard! You should be ashamed of yourself, Akira!"

"That's just what I do!" Akira replied, snickering to herself. "Ah…now that I'm done, can I just, like, leave?"

"_Yes! PLEASE! Even I, your dashingly handsome and brilliant headmaster, haven't heard such vocabulary since the dawn of time!_" Monokuma waved Akira off, who gleefully left the cafeteria with a bounce in her step.

The only ones who had actually stayed when their turns were over were Eiko and Kiyoshi, who were sitting together against the wall, spectating the whole ordeal. They were unusually silent for most of the time, not even bothering to try and make conversation with each other.

"_Ding dong, the bitch is gone! It's time to spin the pen of fate again! Upupupu!_"

Kuno didn't even remotely pay attention to the pen. His mind was more on the track of 'what's the point of this again?'

_So what have we learned from this? Eiko's really paranoid, Kiyoshi is 'okay', Haniji thinks that she's superior to everyone here, Ryota is fucked-up, and Akira…is still the same Akira that we've known for a while now. This is kind of waste of time. We're not really learning anything speci-_

"_Our sixth student that will be sharing today is Mister Kuno Okura!_"

"…Well…then…"

"_It's about time it landed on you! You've been acting a lot less like a generic protagonist than usual!_"

"G-Generic protagonist?"

"_I mean, aside from the fact that your hair isn't all pointy, you're doing a good job at filling that role! Now, before we get all off topic…question one- what is one word that you could use to describe your general feelings?_"

"…" It would be a little impossible for Kuno to put his feelings into words, especially since he had no idea what those feelings were. He couldn't lie and say he was 'fine' or 'okay' or 'good', mostly because someone else had already taken those words. He also couldn't be honest, for various reasons that he couldn't explain. "…Uh, protagonist-ish? Since you just brought it up, I mean…"

"_You guys are really bullshitting your way out of using honest answers! Now tell me how you're really feeling, Mr. Okura! If ya don't…I've got some spears of gungnir in the back, just dying to-_"

"O-Okay! Fine!" Kuno only retorted like that to keep the bear from going into graphic detail about what the 'Spear of Gungnir' could do to him. "Well, I'm feeling uncomfortable, being interrogated by a robotic teddy bear in front of everyone else, I guess…is that what you want to hear?"

"…_It's better. Slightly better. Ugh, fine, do what you want. Question two- __Why are you feeling that way? Have any past or recent events influenced those feelings?_"

"Like I said, being interrogated by a robotic teddy bear in front of all of them."

"_Aww, come on! There's more than that, Mr. Okura!_"

"…There is?"

Monokuma let off a sadistic cackle, flailing around its stubby arms and legs, almost falling out of its throne. "_Do you think I'm stupid?! I can totally read that face of yours! It's not a terribly handsome face, like mine, but you're soooo easy to read! Like a book made for specifically idiots like you!_"

"Is that some sort of insult?"

"_Upupupu! Long story short, I know that being interrogated by me isn't the only reason why you're uncomfortable. There are many, many, many, many, MANY more reasons than just that alone. More personal…in-depth…embarrassing…_"

"Okay, I get it, Monokuma. Can I just have the next question?" Kuno practically begged, getting that much closer to getting on his knees and pleading for mercy.

To top of his uncomfortable feelings, it wasn't comfortable at all that the bear most likely knew why Kuno was being so…'pissy', for lack of a better term. It wasn't like the spy to act that way, and apparently, it was easy to read.

"_Fine, fine. Question three- What is your opinion on all of the other students? And BE HONEST, DAMMIT!_"

'_Be honest'? Hmm…I hate lying. It's a really disgusting thing. Plus, from what we have learned so far, figuring out these alleged lies can turn a completely unsuspicious person into the main target as the culprit. It doesn't do anyone good, not at all…But this is just a counseling thing. What's the worst that could happen…?_

"They're all good people. I have nothing against any of them. Really, I do-"

"_EEHHHH! WRONG!_" Monokuma shouted angrily toward Kuno, mimicking the sound of a buzzer. "_That's a blatant lie!_"

"It's really not. Everyone here is a good per-"

"_WRONG AGAIN!_"

"Then what am I supposed to say?!"

"_Time's up! You're boring. No wonder no one here likes you at all. On a scale of one to ten, you're about…a zero. Now who wants to share their thoughts on Mr. Okura over there?_"

Kuno was silently praying to himself that no one would speak up about him. There were only a few people that could actually say something that had meaning, whether it was something good or something bad. As long as a _certain someone _kept their mouth shut, he would be just fine. After all, that person was the one who saw him tap dancing and singing about it in the hallway a little while ago.

"_Nobody? Really? …Eh, like I care. We don't need your presence polluting the area. Now GET OUT OF MY CIRCLE!_"

The espionage was so close to leaving the room. He couldn't stand being in the same room as Monokuma, but it was even worse having his whimsical yet terrifying voice invade your ears. Adding on to that, he also didn't really have anyone to wait to come out, and he didn't really feel like sitting around any longer and listening to what everyone else had to say. Who knew how much longer the whole counseling ordeal would drag on?

"…" After shooting a glance towards Eiko and Kiyoshi, who were still listening in on the conversation, Kuno hesitantly left the room. He still knew that all eyes were on him and that he was the center of attention, but he just couldn't stand being in that room anymore.

Besides, now everyone knew that there was something up with him.

_Yeah…what to do now? Everyone else who already left the cafeteria is a little unapproachable. Aside from Ryota, who usually isn't, but I don't think he wants anyone else bothering him for the rest of the day. But he barely gave anyone answers during the counseling session…I know that Akira's around here somewhere, too. But after what she said about all of us…nope, that's not happening. And that leaves my roommate, Haniji, who's probably waiting for Masahide to come out. Who knows how long that will take. _

_So I'm all on my own again._

* * *

Monokuma looked around at all the students that surrounded him. There were seven of the miserable students left in the room, but only five remained in the circle.

As he had stated before, only ten of the eleven students had to actually share their feelings to everyone else. That means only one would get away scot-free, without any embarrassing scarring moments to carry with them as they walked out the door.

"_The numbers are dwindling down! And only four more of you to go!_" the bear enthusiastically announced. "_And that's a good thing, because I'd hate to be locked in here with all of you guys for any longer! Do you even know how annoying you guys are? Now, I wonder who the next student to share will be!_"

At that point, none of the students in the circle cared anymore. Once the pen landed on them, if it did, all they had to do was answer three simple questions, which they could easily lie about. Yes, some of them had things that related to how they felt that they would rather not share with everyone else, but unlike Kuno, they weren't as easy to read.

The pen that Monokuma had spun came to a slow stop, the inked tip pointing towards the seventh student that had to share.

"_Our seventh student that will be sharing with us today is Miss Sugita Taiki!_"

Of course, the pen landed on the one student who _wasn't _comfortable with what was going on. Sugita was probably one of the worst liars anyone could ever meet, and that's why she never did it. She would always feel guilty afterward, and would have to make up for it. After all, last time she attempted to lie, it didn't go very well. It ended with something she would rather not think about, which made everything even worse.

It was unusual for Sugita to overthink something that much, but if she did, she would space out.

"_Hey, volley-bastard! Are you even listening to me?!_" Monokuma growled, about to throw something at the volley ball player to snap her back into reality.

"…Huuuh?"

"_Jeez, you totally spaced out for a second there! I just asked you the first question!_"

"Did I? Oh, uh, sorry about that…" Sugita apologized. She was embarrassed by screwing up like that and being the center of attention at the same time, which she hated.

"_Pssh, whatever. Just learn to be an airhead only when it's necessary, got it?!_"

"Airhead? I'm not an a-"

"_QUESTION ONE- what is one word that you could use to describe your general feelings?_"

"…Uh…" It's not that Sugita was an airhead, as Monokuma had said, or as most of the other students had thought. With the pressure of not being able to handle being the center of attention and not being comfortable with lying, there was not much she could do. So, with that in mind, the first emotion that came to her head slipped out of her mouth. "Lonely…?"

"_Mmhmm…Mmhmm…_" Monokuma muttered, scribbling something down onto his clipboard. "_…Heh, good thing I actually learned how to write…Where was I? Aw yeah, you're all lonely, aren't you._"

"I-I guess. If that's what I said, then…"

"_Whatever. Question two- __Why are you feeling that way? Have any past or recent events influenced those feelings?_"

"…Do I have to answer?" Sugita asked softly, scooting further back into her seat.

"_Do you want to be punished?_" Monokuma replied snidely. "_Because if ya don't, you might be able to join your little friend up there! What was his name…Ha, it's been so long, I don't even remember!_"

"…Y-You little…"

"_You're boring me! Just answer the damn question!_"

"Hey, Monokuma!" Eiko called from across the room, speaking up for the first time in what seemed like forever. She was noticeably frustrated, which was starting to become a running theme. "You can't just do that to her! You can't force her to answer your pointless questions after you bring up something so coldly like that! How dare you?!"

"_Keep it quiet over there, Ms. Watanabe! If you're not gonna shut your mouth like a good little girl, then leave!_"

"Shut up! Why the hell are you being so mean-spirited?!" Eiko continued. She clearly wasn't going to leave any time soon.

"…_It's not being mean-spirited! It's knowing how to poke at people the right way! You gotta know what makes someone tick, if you know what I mean!_"

"Makes someone tick?" Sugita muttered, bewildered by the situation she was in.

"_Precisely! I know everyone's weakness! I know what they don't like to hear, and I can use that to my advantage! For example, I could start talking about-_"

"If you stop talking, I'll gladly answer the question!" Sugita interrupted, sick of hearing the bear and the veterinarian go back and forth.

"…_Go ahead._"

"F-Fine. Wanna know why I'm lonely?" Sugita started. Everyone could hear the uncomfortable shakiness of her voice, since every single eye in the room was on her. "You…You kinda just said it, actually. I-I don't need to explain anything…I have nobody who'll actually listen to me, anyway."

"_...Jeez, so mopey. No one likes a sob story, Ms. Taiki_."

"It's not a fucking sob story!"

"_Hey, there's no need to snap at your headmaster like that! You shouldn't have any problems with authority! Stuff like that could get you killed in the real world…wait, this is the real world! I could just kill you now!_"

* * *

"…Do you really think you're safe?"

"Huh?!"

It was startling for Haniji to blurt something out like that to Kuno, even though she had done it several times before. Haniji got sick of waiting for Masahide to come out of the cafeteria, so she headed back to her room. Kuno, on the other hand, not knowing what to do with himself, also headed back to his shared room.

"I asked you a question…Do you really think you're safe?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Kuno admitted, not wanting to deal with Haniji's complicated words at the moment. "What does that even mean?"

"You're not safe…you can't protect yourself…"

"That's not an answer to my question, Haniji."

"…And you thought you two were the only ones in the hall…" Haniji snickered, twirling her paintbrush around in between her fingers.

"I'm not following."

"Honestly…you're terrible at tap-dancing…No wonder you smashed your head into the wall."

Upon hearing that, Kuno's eyes widened in confusion. "Well…did you hear anything?"

"You talk in your sleep, too…" Haniji continued, completely disregarding Kuno's previous question.

"I talk in my sleep? I'm pretty sure that-"

"You can't hide it for long…as long as my mouth functions, that is…Do you know how quickly words spread, Kuno…?"

"…"

"Too quickly…words can destroy your reputation, you know…People won't stop talking about you. You're the topic of every conversation…everyone's conversation. You can't act like it doesn't bug you…"

"…"

"That's why it's better to keep your mouth _shut_…Don't tell anyone of your intentions…all that happens in the end is regret. Everyone will turn against you…and then you'll know how it truly feels."

…_She's talking about this like she's some sort of expert. But…what is she even talking about?_

"Uh, Haniji…about me talking in my sleep and things like that-"

"What do you want…?"

"What exactly was I saying?"

"…" Haniji paused for a moment. Kuno saw something he rarely ever saw, which was a smile spreading across the painter's usually emotionless face. It was a strange thing to lay eyes upon, since even if she was with Masahide, she always had the same unenthused look on her face. "…Nothing interesting…"

"I can tell you're lying to me."

"So what if I am…"

"Can't you just tell me? What if I said something that I regret?"

"Oh, you said plenty of things like that…"

"Like what?!"

"…I could make so many inappropriate jokes right now, but…never mind."

With that, Haniji stood up from her bed and started walking out of the room, not laying eyes on Kuno for even one second.

Kuno, without thinking about it beforehand, followed her out of their room. Knowing Haniji, she would be quick to slip up and say something about him, so he had to do his best to try and prevent that.

"H-Haniji! Wait- where are you going?!" Kuno called after her in an attempt to stop her, but to no avail. She only ever listened to one person in the whole school, and even then, she was a hard person to talk to.

"…Don't talk to me…" Haniji replied back, not even turning her head to acknowledge Kuno's presence.

"Can you just wait for a second, please?" he pleaded. "I just wanna make sure that you don't do anything reckless!"

But before the painter could react, she harshly bumped into somebody in the hallway.

* * *

"_Jeez! What is with you people?! First Miss Volley-Bastard walks out on us, and then the vet and the boxer leave, too? There's, like, barely any of you left in here!_"

Monokuma was visibly downright pissed at the fact that there were only four of his miserable students left in the room. Most of them left due to pure frustration, others for no apparent reason, and the rest just because they couldn't stand being forced to stay in there for any longer. "_At least I can get out of this stupid voice now…eeeeeeeeee_eeeeee okay! Much better! Wow, that hurts on the throat."

"Hey, bear," Masahide spoke up, standing up from his seat. "Does that mean that we don't have to share anything? Because that'd be a relief…"

"What's even the point anymore? There are only four of you here! Why did all of you even willingly stay?!" Monokuma asked in disbelief, slumping into its black and white throne, tossing the clipboard on the ground.

"…'Willingly' is such a strong term, don't you think?" Ace commented. "I am only here because I don't have a choice."

"Well, I thought one of these sweethearts would get punished if they left, so I thought the same thing," Elena shrugged. "But…I guess that wasn't the case, was it, bub?"

"Eh, whatever. It's kind of disappointing that nobody gets the character development that they rightfully deserve," Monokuma muttered, once again saying things that no one could understand. "So…what to do now…I can't just let you get off scot-free. Actually, since _that thing _is coming up…"

"'That thing?'" Daichi questioned, trying to sound serious while Ace was bothering him to no end. "Explain what you mean by that."

"Don't tell me…It isn't a bad thing, is it?" Elena asked worriedly. "'Cause I can't really handle any more of this stuff…"

"…And I can't just blurt everything out that I know about you guys. That would rush it waaaay too much. Pacing is key in situations such as this one…" Monokuma continued rambling on and on.

"Don't start saying gibberish and stuff!" Masahide snapped. "I just wanna leave! I have people waiting for me, y'know."

"Oh yes, I know…a story of two young lovers…" Monokuma mocked, intentionally trying to make his student frustrated.

"Love story?! It's not a freaking love story!"

Monokuma, not feeling like arguing with his young student, hopped down from his throne, appearing to be ready to make some sort of announcement."Upupupu! I know why you guys all hate me…it's all because of my breathtakingly handsome face, my strong and chiseled jaw, high cheekbones, fair complexion…"

"Okay, there are a lot of things wrong with what you just said!" Elena pointed out. "First, _you're a teddy bear_, and second, we have plenty more reasons to hate you than that!"

"Just don't get started with the bear. It's a lost cause," Daichi tried to convince Elena, which didn't work out. There was no way she was going to back out now.

"Really, Ms. Grey? I was sure you were all jealous of my beautiful looks! You say there's more?!"

"Aside from your 'beautiful looks', which don't even exist, you're responsible for a lot of bad things!" Elena shouted, pointing at the innocent-looking bear.

"Such as…?"

"Elena, seriously. This isn't going to get you anywhere," Daichi kept insisting, annoyed with how brash the ringleader was being. "You shouldn't be picking fights with that thing."

"What do you mean 'such as'?!" Elena continued, disregarding what Daichi was telling her to do. "You're responsible for murdering five of our friends! Isn't _that _enough to make us hate you?!"

"…Responsible? For that? Me?!" Monokuma said, obviously faking being taken aback by Elena's harsh words. "No, no, no…You're getting this all wrong, Ms. Grey! I didn't kill anyone! Ms. Sato and Mr. Nakamura were brutally murdered by your fellow classmates, Mr. Sanada and Ms. Ebihara were killed by the cruel hands of fate, and the kigurumi practically killed themselves! You can't blame little old me for such dastardly doings!"

"W-Why are we even bringing these guys up? It makes me uncomfortable, you know…" Masahide muttered, fiddling with his fingers.

"_Now _you wanna know why I brought it up?!" Monokuma sneered. "Anyways, I know why you all hate me! Apparently, you guys have this delusional mindset in which I killed all five of those losers! Unbelievable, riiiiight?"

"It's not a delusion! It's the truth!" Elena fought back, balling up her fists.

"Don't interrupt me! I'm getting somewhere so quit your yapping! AHEEEM! Anyway, yes, I get it, all of you hate me…for reasons that are still unclear, for the sake of this announcement."

"Stop telling us things we already know and get on with it!" Masahide retorted, starting to get angry with the bear.

"…So you guys want another reason? Very well then!"

* * *

*bzzzzzt*

"Ahem! All of you worthless bastards better mosey your little asses down to the cafeteria right now! I don't care whether or not you would particularly enjoy coming here at this very moment, but guess who doesn't care about your feelings! It's a _beary_ important announcement! If you don't show up very soon…well, I think you guys get the gist of it! See you there! Upupupu!"

*bzzzzzt*

* * *

Whether or not they wanted to be in the cafeteria, like Monokuma had said in his speech over the monitor, all of the students quickly showed up in the cafeteria.

"Damn you, you shitheaded teddy bear!" Akira snapped as she walked into the room, making her presence known. Then again, it was pretty easy to tell when she entered somewhere. Once someone heard the angry yelling and cursing, everyone knew that she was making her way there. "I don't need any more of these fucking 'important announcements'!"

"…Same here. I think we've all had enough of Monokuma today, don't you think?" Eiko somewhat agreed. "I mean, after that whole counseling thing…"

"No! Seeing all of you get along makes me sick! Stop it right now!" Monokuma suddenly spoke up, expressing his distaste for his students' behavior.

"Whatever you want with us…just make it quick, okay?" Daichi asked, rolling his eyes.

_It seems like I have a plethora of things for me to be worrying about… _Kuno thought to himself, trying to drown out the sounds of his fellow students yelling at the bear in frustration. _Aside from what's happening right now with Monokuma, it looks like my roommate is doing a great job at messing with my head. I have no idea what she's doing or what she's possibly planning to do in the future, but I know for sure that it isn't anything good. _

Monokuma simply laughed at his students' efforts to make him feel guilty. He somehow thought that he wasn't responsible for the deaths of Paige, Ryunosuke, Pyonpyon-King, Masaru, Natsumi, and whoever was to come if the killings didn't come to an end, but in reality, he was the reason why all of the students were being driven into murdering each other in the first place. Saying that the 'Cruel Hands of Fate' killed the ones who were executed was also a complete lie, since Monokuma was the one behind the executions.

Still, after all that had happened so far, there was no way that they would let Monokuma do as he pleased. Even though there were still quite a lot of the students left, the killings had gotten way too out of hand. Some of them already experienced having people close to them die in the past, but not in this way.

It was unusual how hopeless a robotic black and white teddy bear could make somebody feel.

"Ahem! Now that you guys are done bickering, I'd like to share something important with all of you!" Monokuma announced. He waddled up to his black and white throne, which was laid out in the center if the room, and stood up on its two-colored cushion. "You guys have most likely all been wondering the same exact thing- what does our criminally adorable headmaster want from us _this _time!"

"'Criminally adorable' my ass!" Akira said with a scowl, putting her feet up on the chair closest to her. "Just tell us so I can get back to my business."

"Heh, being so brief about it makes it seem really kinky…" Masahide muttered, laughing to himself.

"S-Shut up! Go be dirty-minded somewhere else!"

"How about nobody is dirty-minded at all so we can just get this over with?!" Eiko suggested rather forcefully. "Who knows, it might actually be a good thing."

"Have you been deaf for the past…forever? It's never a good thing," Ryota sighed, sounding flat.

"Wow, you guys are starting to become ever-so slightly smarter!" Monokuma said as if it were a good thing. "You're finally discovering how **truly hopeless **you are in this situation! I applaud for this realization. Bravo!"

"I don't really think that's the case," Kuno pointed out. "You're just…really predictable.

"…Predictable?!"

"Yeah, that's kinda true…" Sugita added on. "Knowing how this works, you're just gonna tell us some dumb stuff about a motive or whatever…And we know better than to actually believe what you're saying. It's all fake."

"…PREDICTABLE?! YOU THINK I'M _PREDICTABLE_?!" Monokuma shouted at its highest volume, causing all of the students in the room to cringe and cover their ears. "NO ONE HAS EVER SAID THAT ABOUT ME BEFORE! ARE YOU REALLY SURE ABOUT THAT?!"

Still shaken up by the bear's sudden outburst, everyone slowly nodded.

"…NO ONE CALLS _ME _PREDICTABLE! THAT SHOULD BE AGAINST THE SCHOOL RULES! YOU SHOULD ALL BE _PUNISHED _FOR SUCH A HARMFUL ACTION!"

"…Then why'd you call us here…?" Haniji asked the bear, lifting her hands off of her ears.

"…Eh?!"

"In order to know if you are truly _that _predictable…we need to know why you called all of us here…just so we can confirm that our prediction is correct," she explained insightfully.

"…"

"Was it a motive…or what?"

"…" For the first time, it actually appeared as if Monokuma was feeling defeated. He was always the one who would play God with the students, but now that they had caught on to his antics, what was the fun in that? If they had expected a motive from a beginning, then all the bear could do was change the subject, in order to keep the fun going.

"So it_ was _a motive?" Elena asked with a hint of worry in her voice. "Ugh, why is it always a motive?! I saw that from a mile away, but at the same time, I didn't really want to believe it…"

"…F-Fair enough…I'LL SAVE THAT SHIT FOR TOMORROW, GOT IT?!" Monokuma lashed out at his students, almost resorting to performing one of his unavoidable attacks on them, due to his frustration. "Predictable…it's unbelievable that you think of me so lowly…you hurt my precious feelings…"

"Bears aren't supposed to have feelings! Well…at least robotic demon teddy bears, but still! I'd never feel pity for something like you!" Masahide retorted.

"E-Enough about the bears and the feelings!" Eiko interrupted. "You said that there will _still _be a motive presented to us?!"

"Yeah…but my little heart can't take this betrayal…" Monokuma once again started going on and on about things that none of the students could understand. "The main antagonist shouldn't be so predictable! Warui Uma would totally eject me from the league right now…"

"Please, enough with the babbling!" Akira said, annoyed with Monokuma. "Are you going to tell us anything else that I couldn't care less about, or can I just leave right now?!"

"No! Don't leave yet! I have a few more things to say until I properly dismiss you!" Monokuma responded, perking up. "Oh, and it's something totally unpredictable! So take that, you harsh bear critics!"

"Unpredictable? Knowing you, that probably translates to 'Really Fucking Dangerous'…" Kiyoshi quietly muttered, cracking his knuckles.

"Dangerous?! I think we've had enough of the danger already, thank you very much…" Elena said, biting off her nails in stress.

"Don't worry, you guys! The dangerous part is completely over with!" Even though it was hard to pay undivided and full attention to Monokuma, the next words the bear said caught everyone's attention. "Besides, that stuff probably wore off by now…"

"…'That stuff'? The hell does that mean?!" Akira growled, about to stand up from her seat.

"See?! Who's the predictable one now?! I knew you would say something like that, anyway. By 'that stuff', I mean 'that poison'!"

"…"

…_Again?!_

"P-Poison?! You _poisoned _us?!" Eiko stammered in disbelief, tugging at her hair.

"Ding dong, you AREN'T wrong!" Monokuma replied, its unsettlingly cheerful demeanor back intact. "Ah, but I know that Ms. Watanabe and Mr. Okura are already familiar with that feeling!"

"That's not the point! Why exactly did you poison us?" Daichi asked, trying to keep his cool. "And how, and where…?"

"You can't just poison us like that! You would need our consent or something!" Sugita retaliated, folding her arms.

"Ugh, you guys are so clueless, you know that?" Monokuma sighed heavily, hating that he had to explain every single thing to everyone. "I have to feed you every single solitary detail! Why can't you all just figure it out yourselves?!"

"Because you literally just told us that we were all fucking poisoned!" Akira snapped, her voice cracking because of how much effort she was putting into yelling at the bear.

"Come one, students! I know this was a little sudden, but don't blame me! You're lucky I told you the cause before somebody went all-out insane! It's happened before, where someone's eyes go all swirly, but there's a reason for everything that happens around here!"

"…" Kuno couldn't deny that the bear was telling the truth about the whole thing. After all, it seemed like he was going through some strange symptoms. He had started becoming emotionally unstable, having some sort of internal conflict, and the whole time, he was turning weird shades of red. It had to be the doing of the 'poison' Monokuma spoken of.

"Clueless, clueless, clueless!" Monokuma yelled snidely at his students, who still couldn't comprehend what they were being told. That, on top of another motive in the works, was enough to drive anybody insane. "For how I got it to you all, that's for me to know and you to find out! It's nothing trial-worthy, but still a good case, if you think about it! Now, about _why _I did it…just…reasons."

"…'Just reasons'?" Akira was that much closer to throwing her chair across the room, specifically preparing to aim it for the bear's face. "THERE HAS TO BE A BETTER REASON THAN THAT, YOU SON OF A-"

"Oh, but didn't you guys experience some of the symptoms?" Monokuma interrupted, acting like it didn't hear Akira's sudden outburst. "I know some of you noticed it more than others, but…"

"Hold on, I can't really take all of this in at once…" Sugita interrupted, brushing her hair off of her face. "This is all really confusing…"

"That's what you get for being an airhead, Ms. Taiki!" Monokuma teased, putting its paws over its mouth. "Jeez, I try to _protect_ you all with this little experiment, and you're all bashing on me? Wow, you guys are still so hard to please…"

…_Protect us all?_

"Hey, Monoku-"

"The 'how' and the 'where' and the 'why' and the 'what' don't matter at all, okay?" Monokuma interrupted, bearing its claws. "None of this concerns any of you! Meet me here for the presentation of the motive tomorrow morning, okay?! Now GET OUT OF HERE!"

With that, Monokuma quickly vanished, leaving the utterly bewildered students alone in the cafeteria. Since it was getting awfully late, they all decided to part back to their rooms without any words.

* * *

_So that explains why I haven't been acting like myself lately…_

_It was because Monokuma poisoned us all…and for reasons he won't explain._

_But something he said caught me off guard. 'I try to protect you all with this little experiment'…What does that even mean? It's more confusing than trying to understand what Haniji told me earlier…_

_Now that I think about it, that was also pretty weird. 'Words can destroy your reputation, you know…People won't stop talking about you. You're the topic of every conversation…everyone's conversation. You can't act like it doesn't bug you…That's why it's better to keep your mouth shut…Don't tell anyone of your intentions…all that happens in the end is regret. Everyone will turn against you…and then you'll know how it truly feels.' _

_There must be something that she's hiding from us…_

_Well, as long as she keeps her mouth shut, it'll all be okay…_

_Except for the motive that Monokuma is giving us tomorrow._

* * *

_**NEW POLL ON MY PROFILE!  
**_


	24. Don't Open It!

**After that hiatus, I'm finally back!**

**Forgive me if this chapter feels different, I haven't written for this story in a **_**long **_**time.**

**Also, I'm going to have to tone down on the language a tiny bit. I'm writing this on my school computer…**

**It's about time I continued!**

**Happy Despairing~!**

* * *

_Upupupupu! Wonder what they think of me now, thanks to that stupid slip of the tongue. That right there was a mistake on my part._

_I've got to get that under control. I can't just blurt things out like that. My students will start to suspect my true intentions!_

_Is there really a thing that exists that can…I don't know, __**extract **__that part of me out of my brain or something?_

_When they created me, they promised that I would only be filled with true despair! Only the most pure despair would fill my mind! But because of the stupid mistakes that those bastards made, they left a little bit of that horrible thing left. And as long as that thing is there, I could make reckless mistake after reckless mistake…_

_But maybe my students won't try to catch on! I mean, I slipped up once, so it isn't that big of a deal, right? I wasn't actually trying to protect them by giving them back their school memories…but that's what that part of me was trying to accomplish, wasn't it!? That was the other side of me trying to take full control! That can never happen ever again! No, it __will__ never happen again!_

_I pledge that, in my duty as headmaster, I will only make my students learn the definition of __**pure despair**__. No matter how many times I make a mistake, I'll always get back to my stubby little bear feet and persist!_

_I only had that dreadful 'counseling session' or whatever to help them learn that definition. In the situation that they're currently in, one of the most heart-wrenching things would be to see someone their close to lying down on the ground with a bunch of weapons sticking out of them! If that doesn't contribute to the concept of __**pure despair**__, then I have no idea what the hell does!_

_That was only so they could get even closer to each other. That's why I also gave them roommates- so they could develop a stronger bond! The more they know about each other, the closer they get! And the closer they get, the more despairing it is when one of those fools falls!_

_The __**pure despair **__of your best friend being executed in front of your very eyes…the __**pure despair **__of having the one you love deep down inside being brutally murdered…the __**pure despair **__of having your best friend stab you in the back for their own selfish needs…THIS is what I feed off of!_

_I only need to take a few more of them for my little…'check-ups'. They call them 'Monokuma's Abductions', but it's a lot more than that, you bastards! It takes a while for the process to be complete, but it's worth it in the end._

_And as long as I have my accomplices doing whatever I tell them to do, there is no chance that my plan is going to fail!_

_Upupupupu!_

* * *

*bzzzzzt*

"Good morning, students! It's seven in the morning! Time to get up! Let's all strive to do our best today!"

*bzzzzzt*

Kuno stirred in his bed, trying to drown out the bear's voice.

At this point, he'd lost track of how many days they had been at the school. Every day just blurred together like one big mess of unfortunate occurrences. There was nothing able to keep him from going insane, and the events of the previous night had no help in restoring his mind.

He slowly sat up and ran his hand through his greasy hair, still a little out of it.

"It sounded like…like you had a good night…"

Kuno's eyes shot open and he abruptly turned to his side. For a moment, he forgot that he had a roommate, and once he remembered that fact, he forgot who it was. Of course, it was none other than Haniji, who had been acting even weirder than usual, especially around him. She'd been warning him of things that were yet to come and such, but on a normal day, she would never utter a word to Kuno, especially as soon as the morning announcement was made.

"I doubt any of us had a good night," Kuno replied, now wide-awake.

"Really…? You were sound asleep…talking to yourself as usual…"

"Still? W-Well…it's probably just the effects of the…you know, what Monokuma told us last night."

"…" Haniji just sat there, staring at Kuno while a paintbrush twirled in her fingers. It was like she was doing some sort of mental analysis of his behaviors. "You're weird, Kuno…"

_Really? _I'm _the weird one?_

"I need to find him…" Haniji continued, standing up from her bed and starting to make her way towards the door.

"Hey, wait!"

"…?"

Kuno was about to question the painter about the things he said in his sleep, but then he remembered what she said a few nights ago. _If I keep pushing her, who knows what she's gonna say to people about me…Well, she'll at least say something to Masahide, and we all know how well he can handle a secret._

Not knowing what to say after stopping her, he asked the first question that popped up in his mind. "Um, aren't you gonna shower and stuff?"

"…I never saw a point in doing so…it's very time-consuming…" After a few seconds, she walked out of the room, the door slowly creaking shut behind her.

_What was I expecting? …Still, I should probably make my way to the cafeteria, even if we all know what's gonna happen. Monokuma said something about giving us another motive last night, and I'm absolutely _dreading _the thought of it. I still feel so vulnerable after Monokuma told us that he poisoned us, and for the first time, I'm starting to think…_

_What if somebody kills me?_

* * *

Since the cafeteria was usually quite empty in the morning, it was a very unusual sight to see that every student was there.

The mood of the room was quite uncomfortable because of the previous day's counseling session, which everyone immediately tried to forget, but the silence hanging in the air was mostly because the students knew exactly what Monokuma was going to tell them that morning.

The one thing they clearly remembered was the fight they had the previous morning, which, as usual, was mostly Akira's fault. It ended up with Ace admitting that he'd enjoy seeing everyone get killed, which wasn't much of a surprise, and the Monokuma Counseling Session being initiated. It wasn't nearly as bad as the fight they had on the fifth day, which Kuno fortunately missed, but it was enough to set Monokuma off, who wasn't the easiest one to make truly upset. Because of this, everyone kept their conversations to a minimum, attempting to not get the bear's attention.

The students in the cafeteria were spread out as they usually were. Right next to Kuno was Elena, who had greeted him as soon as he walked out of his room. She was acting as her usual bubbly self, but it was blatantly clear that she was forcing a smile. Kuno couldn't help but admire her persistence with her cheerful behavior, since she was the kind of person the school really needed to keep everyone from falling into true despair.

"Hmm…Heya, Kuno," Elena blurted out, turning to face him. "You're looking a little better, I see! Not red anymore! That's a plus, bub!"

"I guess…" Kuno wearily replied, not really in the mood for conversation.

"Kuno…we got this, alright? You and me? We got this!"

"…What?"

"It doesn't matter if somebody poisons you for the thousandth time, we got this!"

Her vagueness wasn't helpful, but at least she was trying to be enthusiastic about the situation.

"Oh, uh, thanks, Elena," Kuno said, lacking any enthusiasm.

On the other hand, Kiyoshi and Daichi, after their unexplained separation, were back together as they usually were, except with the unneeded addition of Ace. Every few seconds, an "Okada-kun~!" would ring throughout the cafeteria, along with the sounds of Daichi struggling to pry the gambler off of him. Kiyoshi just watched, silently making fun of his friend's ordeal.

"Okada-kun! Okada-kun! O-"

"Ace, _please_!" Daichi retorted, close to throwing the gambler across the room. Next to him, Kiyoshi let out a little laugh, admittedly finding Daichi's situation humorous.

Kuno would think that Kiyoshi would be acting differently after the counseling, since he remembered that Monokuma brought up that someone in his family had died. Kiyoshi had said absolutely nothing about the matter, and his behaviors didn't change in the slightest from the day before. It was odd that Kiyoshi was seemingly emotionless when it came to personal things like that, but for him, it was a lot better to keep things to himself than to have another full-fledged counseling session.

At a different table sat Sugita, Eiko, and Ryota, with Ryota being the only unusual member of that group. Even though Eiko admitted to not trusting any of the students because of the events of the second trial, she was still willing to associate with people, especially Sugita.

Ryota, on the other hand, seemed to be completely normal, despite everything that had happened to him. Kuno couldn't help but wonder of Ryota's abduction a few days ago had something to do with it, but he knew that asking wouldn't be appropriate.

He'd think that Ryota and Eiko willingly being around each other wouldn't happen because of the events of the second trial, but he'd rather not remember it.

Besides, it wasn't Eiko's fault.

The most familiar sight was Masahide and Haniji sitting together, which they did every single day that they could. Their relationship was…charming, but in a weird sort of way. Even though Haniji had blatantly told all of the students that she was 'superior' to them, it was clear that she held Masahide a little higher than everybody else. Masahide had always stuck up for the painter, especially whenever Akira would yell at the pair.

Speaking of which, Akira sat alone as she usually did, facing the wall. She wanted nothing to do with anybody, and that was that.

Even though everyone wanted to forget the counseling session, everyone clearly remembered Akira's 'colorful vocabulary' on what she had to say about everyone.

Kuno enjoyed assessing everyone's behaviors and actions. At this point, he knew everyone pretty well, with the exception of those who never really talked to anyone. It almost felt like everyone had forgotten the previous day, like they had forgotten what Monokuma had told them.

And then everyone's favorite black and white bear popped up.

"Upupupupu…! Guess who's back!"

"Yeah yeah, we know, just get it over with," Akira said very wearily, a lot quieter than usual. She still faced the wall, not bearing to look Monokuma in his glowing red eye.

"Actually, I have a few announcements!" the bear cheered, standing up on one of the empty tables. "I'll save the biggie for last, because it's the greatest one of all!"

"I-I don't want a biggie! Can we have, uh, only 'smallies'?" Masahide cried, already starting to panic.

"Just let it happen…" Haniji groggily replied, picking at her clothing.

"Oh, I just LOVE your enthusiasm~!" Monokuma cooed. After pretending to admire the students for a few moments, he went right back to being serious. "Now, first of all! I'm sure you all remember the events of yesterday!"

"Well, yeah, unfortunately," Sugita remarked, her face slightly falling.

"I swear to _god_, you better not bring it up," Akira growled, slowly turning to face the bear. Her sunglasses were perched on top of her head, revealing her glaring eyes.

"Don't worry about it, my lovely designer! I have a proposition for you- let's never talk about it ever again! Any of it!"

"Why are you giving us news we actually _want _to hear?" Ryota asked, raising a brow. "You really think we were gonna beg and plead for you to talk about it?"

"Don't be a dipshit, Mr. Suzuki," Monokuma deadpanned. "I'm talking about _everything_ from yesterday. The counseling session was something for ME to analyze! And besides, the poison should be wearing off by now!"

"B-"

"DON'T ASK ABOUT IT! DON'T ASK ABOUT IT! DON'T ASK ABOUT IT! DON'T ASK ABOUT IT!" Monokuma screamed, flailing his arms. "IT'S ONLY _**MY**_BUSINESS!"

"C-Calm down! We weren't going to say anything!" Eiko clarified, covering her ears to drain out Monokuma's shrill cries.

"I have a few goddamn things to say!" Akira yelled back. "What the hell is this bear thinking?! It was so out of nowhere, and you BARELY have an explanation!"

"We can figure it out later on, just let it go for now," Kuno calmly explained to Akira, but he knew that she would never listen.

"Don't tell me what to do, spy boy!" she angrily retorted, her voice cracking.

"Oh my goodness…I've unleashed a beast…" Monokuma said quietly, pretending to be afraid of Akira's threats.

"Uh…alright, let's just say that we forgot everything from yesterday, okay?" Sugita proposed. "If there's, um, more news that isn't bad stuff, can you tell us about that?"

Monokuma sharply turned to Sugita, holding out his paw as if he was doing a thumbs-up. "I like the way you think, sister!" he proudly exclaimed, winking.

"Th-thanks…" Sugita replied, wide eyed. She slowly turned away from Monokuma, clearly uncomfortable.

"Anyway, my awful students, speaking of more _juicy _news, I've installed a great new asset somewhere in the b-three floor! I'm sure you guys will have a great time with it! I just got it last night, fresh and polished, so it's guaranteed to be a hit with ya!" Monokuma cleared his throat, ready to announce something 'big', at least in his mind. "I call it…The B.F.I!"

_B.F.I?_

"…The hell does that stand for?" Masahide questioned. "Best…Friend…Initiation? Like a get-together?"

"Try…_BIG FIERY INCINERATOR!_" Monokuma shouted, seemingly overjoyed with his new installment. "It's not motive-related or anything, but I felt as if it was a necessity to this academy! If you ever wanted to dispose of anything…or _anybody_, just toss 'em right in and it'll be engulfed in the highest-quality flames! …Every other day, of course. We wouldn't want to abuse such a power, right? It's bound to help out with murder! You know, disposing of evidence, maybe even throwing somebody in there and cooking them to a nice well-done! I'll make sure to have it functioning during this period of time, so you won't have to worry about anyone finding out!"

The cafeteria went completely silent.

_An…incinerator?! I would think that the school might already have one, but not on a floor like the b-three floor. On a floor with things like a candy store and a nightclub, I wouldn't expect an incinerator to be out in the open like he described it. Plu-_

"Where is it?!" Ace suddenly asked, breaking the silence and making everyone's attention shift directly to him. "You said it's on that floor, but you never told us the exact location, correct?"

"Are you serious?!" Akira yelled, leaning from her seat. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"I'm asking a simple question and I expect a simple answer. None of this concerns you, you unlucky trash bag," Ace calmly replied. He pulled his beanie down over his eyes and slumped onto Daichi, still grasping for the poor mercenary's hand.

Akira didn't have a response, since this response was typical of Ace, except for him wanting to know the exact location of the incinerator.

"Upupupu, I was waiting for one of you bastards to ask!" Monokuma giggled, excitedly shuffling his feet. "The special thing is…I hid the incinerator! It's your guys' job to find it! Think of it as a scavenger hunt, but you're scavenging for a big, fiery incinerator. It's a family-friendly game!"

Once again, the cafeteria went completely silent.

"Really? No response to my proposal of the game-within-a-game? Don't you wanna watch your enemies burn?! Hmmm…?!"

"I'll leave the exploration to myself, thank you very much," Ace responded, fairly annoyed.

Akira was about to snap back at Ace, but Monokuma was quick to interject.

"And now, the m- wait, I should use my serious voice for this one…hmmmm_mmmmmmmm! There we go." _The bear cleared his throat once more. _"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for…the motive! Tada!"_

Nobody had the energy to fight back against the motive. Even though the students weren't adjusted to the game itself, the motives were no longer a surprise.

It was as if they had given up all hope.

"_Now, this motive is a VERY special motive. It's so special that it'll have to be delivered to you personally! __**It's a little gift basket that this bear right here made all by himself! Trust me, it's chock-full of treats and surprises that I made especially for you!**__ And, of course, there are rules along with this gift basket! Number one- you must interact with every item in the basket to its full extent! If there's a videotape, you must watch the entire thing. Since you all have monitors in your rooms, you can just shove the videotape up the back of the monitor and it'll play. If there's a note, you must read the whole thing! Number two- you are allowed to exchange ONE item in the basket with somebody! I don't see why you'd want to, unless it's something that would benefit someone else more, but you can't exchange more than one thing! If something is exchanged, the receiver MUST interact with the item they received to its full extent! The possibilities are endless with what can be in the gift baskets! If any of the rules are broken, you will receive the punishment you deserve! …And that's it!"_

Monokuma took a big gasp of air after his lengthy speech, then falling over on the table. "Good god, that was a mouthful!" he stated, out of breath. "That voice takes a lot of skill to maintain, you know. I'm a very talented bear." He stood up and hopped down from the table. "Any questions? Comments? Concerns?"

Akira immediately perked up. "Oh, I have some _comments _for you, bear-"

"About the motive!" Monokuma defended. "Jeez, I try to give you guys gift baskets, emphasis on the _gift_, and you're not even happy about it?! Wow, you guys are a tough crowd!"

"It's not that we're tough…even though we are, with all of this…b-but we're just tired of it. Predictability, y'know," Sugita admitted, twirling her hair around her finger.

Monokuma was very quick to interject once again. "Oh, just _wait _until you see what I got you, Ms. Taiki."

"W-What?!"

"Let's just say…don't _act _like you won't love it!"

Sugita sat there for a moment, staring into space and trying to decipher what Monokuma meant, but to no avail. "Um, I don't get it."

"Of course you don't…ugly, useless, disgusting, worthless…" Ace muttered, fidgeting in his seat.

"Hey! It can't possibly be as bad as the last motive, right?" Elena exclaimed, standing up. "I mean, it's only a gift basket. I can't imagine how that could be worse than the musical."

"I wouldn't count on it," Daichi suddenly voiced, still pushing the gambler away. "Knowing that bear, it's guaranteed to be something bad. Just because it—_Ace, I swear to God—_just because it sounds like a good thing doesn't mean it is."

"Oh, Okada-kun…so smart and charming…" Ace said lovingly, practically swooning.

"Ahh, I can just feel the love in the air!" Monokuma said mockingly. "Whelp, I'll be on my way! Farewell, my students!"

And with that, the cafeteria was quiet again.

_It's odd how Ace is still so obsessed with Daichi, even though he is a lot more resistant than I was. I guess I should be glad that this isn't the case for me anymore._

_On the other hand, this motive…Daichi's right on this one, it can't be something good. A gift basket from Monokuma is essentially a gift basket from a psychotic serial murderer. I'm terrified to see what he put in mine, since I barely know what that bear thinks of me. I can't help but be worried for everyone else as well, especially Sugita, since I have a feeling as to an item that'll definitely be in her basket, and the same goes for anyone who has been in a similar situation._

_This new motive most certainly has the potential to be a lot worse than the last one. Sure, the musical was grueling and ill-inducing, but Monokuma is actually directly involved with these gift baskets. Last time, the musical wasn't heavily involved in why…why Natsumi did what she did, but this time, we can't be so sure. _

Without a word, as if on cue, all of the students started to exit the cafeteria. The dreary mood lingered wherever they went, with the new motive being the main cause. There was fear instilled in all of them, though those who never made it known didn't express it, but they all knew what the result would be. There was no way to avoid it.

One of them was going to be killed.

* * *

Kuno tried to get to opening his gift basket as soon as he possibly could.

He knew for sure that Haniji wouldn't be in their room, as she'd definitely be off with Masahide somewhere, so he wanted to get back to his room as soon as possible.

_At least I'll be alone…Hell, I wouldn't want Haniji to see anything that's in my basket. Anything could be in there, right? Not that I'm hiding anything that the whole world is dying to hear, but everyone here has the tendency to make a big deal out of nothing at all, hence all of the fighting._

As soon as he reached his room, he quickly slammed the door shut and locked it. Moving without thinking, he slightly stumbled over an object on the floor, almost losing his balance.

With a second look, he realized he had tripped over a single basket on the floor by the door.

_If there's only one, that means Haniji must've gotten hers already. Damn, she moves quickly…_

Kuno picked up his basket and carried it over to his bed. He knew for a fact it was his, since the front of the basket read "My Favorite Bland Ol' Protagonist" in bold letters.

_I don't wanna do this. As if the little title on the front wasn't unwelcoming enough, I can already see some sort of videotape. _

_If only we didn't have t-_

*knockknockknock*

Kuno was startled at the sudden and rather harsh knocks at his door. He didn't have a clue as to who it could be, and he could feel his stomach start to pang with nervousness, but he didn't really have a choice.

He walked over to the door and cautiously opened it, fearing it was someone he didn't want to deal with.

"Uh…Hey there, Kuno." The figure at the door was Sugita, and she clearly looked distraught. She stared down at the corner of the door, not able to look Kuno in the eyes. One hand had her nails being bitten, and the other hand carried what was seemingly her gift basket.

"Sugita? What are you doing here?"

The volleyball player then shifted her eyes towards her gift basket. "N-Nothing much, really. Sorry to bother you…"

"…Oh. Well, um…Is there something y-"

"You know how I don't have a room?" she suddenly voiced, negating her previous statement. She looked up toward Kuno and continued her thoughts. "And I have to sleep in different rooms each night, right? Well, I was going to go to the room I stayed in last night, but they were already there! They locked the door on me, like they completely forgot about me! So I knocked on the door and I was like, 'Hey, can I get my thing?', and then they were all like, 'What thing?', and then I was like, 'Y'know, the dumb basket!', and then they said, 'Yeah, hold on a second', and then they opened the door and gave me the basket, so I said 'Thank you' like the polite girl I am, and then they said 'Sure, but you should probably open it somewhere else, I wouldn't want to bother you or anything', and then before I could answer, someone else in the room slammed the door, so I was like, 'Why? What's going on?', but nobody answered, so I got a little upset, and then I started thinking, 'Hey, I bet Kuno would let me open my basket in his room, I can trust that guy!', so-"

Sugita stopped abruptly, looking deflated. "Ugh! I started rambling, I'm so sorry…"

"No, no, it's fine. It's all good," Kuno assured her, a little overwhelmed.

"Well…is it alright if I-"

"Yeah, sure. I don't mind."

Sugita's bright eyes lit up. "Really? Oh, thank you so much!"

Kuno could tell that she was very close to dropping her basket and hugging him for such a kind gesture, but that action was quickly stopped by the thought of the basket itself. Not that it wasn't a kind gesture, but given the situation, the gift baskets weren't something to get excited over.

Sugita simply looked back down at the ground and walked straight past Kuno through the door, fidgeting and biting her lip. She dropped her basket on the floor in front of her.

"…I'm really scared to look at it," Sugita said, her back turned to Kuno.

"I know, I think we all are. We don't really have a choice though, right?"

"I just…" she turned back to Kuno, and her face had an expression of true terror. It was puzzling how fast her emotions could change, from being upset to giddy to petrified in the matter of a few minutes. "Monokuma really scared me back there. What does 'don't _act_ like you won't love it' even mean?! I've been thinking about it, but I still can't figure anything out!"

Kuno peeked past Sugita and looked at the basket by her feet. As he had expected, there was a glass-encased videotape sticking out of the basket, more prominent than any other item.

"You're a spy and stuff, right? So you should be smart!"

Without answering, Kuno walked past Sugita and picked up the videotape from her basket.

"Kuno…? Hello?!"

Once again, he didn't answer. Instead, he studied the videotape, inspecting every inch of it as closely as he could. Nothing was particularly off about the videotape. It looked identical to the one in his basket, being the same size and color, but he doubted that they contained the same material.

"Is it something bad? Does it look weird?" Sugita questioned, starting to get a little irritated.

"…I think I have an idea as to what it is."

Sugita's eyes lit up again, not with delight, but with more fear. "Don't just stand there! Please, just tell me!" The second after she said that, she was clearly filled with regret for sounding rude. Kuno didn't blame her, since she was basically begging for an explanation.

_I know what it is. I know it. But…I don't have the heart to let her watch this. Then again, Monokuma expressed the rules precisely, so keeping this from her would have a certain consequence. But still, why would I do this to her? Why would Monokuma…no, that's easy to answer. Monokuma does what he does, and there's nothing we can do about it. But based on the videotape, his goals are a bit muddled. Are the baskets really made to make people want to commit murder?_

_Or were they meant to drive people to suicide?_

With reluctance, Kuno handed Sugita the videotape. "I'm sorry...You have to watch it. There's nothing I can do."

Sugita was obviously disturbed by Kuno's reaction. "Wait, what? I don't…what?"

"If I'm not wrong, I-"

"Hey, there's no rule that I can't show this to anyone, right?" Sugita interrupted, a little hopeful. "So it doesn't matter if you just happen to see it with me?"

"Well…no, there wasn't a rule about that, but-"

"I-I don't wanna watch it alone! You're making it sound like the end of the world! If it was made for me, it shouldn't make you feel bad!"

Kuno thought for a moment, knowing what the right response was, but he couldn't muster the courage to pull through. "I'm sorry, I can't do it. It would be better if you were alone. I'll…leave you alone for now, alright? You can open your basket in here, I'll just…"

Sugita looked as if she was about to cry. "A-Are you sure?!"

"…Yeah, I'm sure. I'm sorry."

Kuno felt absolutely awful for what he did, but he knew he wouldn't be able to bear watching her suffer. Reluctantly, he picked up his basket and walked out the door.

Before he closed it, he looked back at Sugita one more time. Her face was visible, since she was pushing the videotape into the back of the monitor, but she didn't look at Kuno. Her eyes were blank as she put in her videotape, but there was still some sort of innocence. At least for now, there was innocence.

He couldn't imagine what else would be in her basket. Slowly, he closed the door on her.

He could hear the video starting up faintly behind the door. It was a dreadfully familiar tune.

* * *

Since his roommate was off somewhere, Ryota thought it would be a good idea to open his basket alone.

It wasn't that Kiyoshi was any sort of bother. He didn't really talk that much, but when he did talk, he wasn't really that intimidating. Despite being a boxer, there wasn't a 'rough-n-tough' attitude to him. Ryota was relieved that Kiyoshi was his roommate, since it could've been a lot worse for him. He thought he could've gotten stuck with someone like Akira, and a lot of the other students had very overbearing personalities. Luckily, Ryota was paired with someone quite mellow who didn't have any problems with him.

Kiyoshi himself wasn't the problem, but Ryota feared the contents of his basket. He could see a videotape poking out of the top, protected by a glass case, which was already a bad sign. He didn't have a clue as to what kind of video would be on there.

_It can't be that bad, right? It can't be bad. It can't be bad. _That thought continuously ran through his mind as he picked up the videotape, inspecting it for any sign as to what it would be.

It was odd that Kiyoshi had left his basket in their room, and even stranger that there was no videotape in that basket.

Without much thought, Ryota pushed his videotape into the monitor and sat in front of it, waiting for it to start.

After a few seconds, the video booted up.

It started with static, then shifted to an oddly high-quality camera's view on a specific room. It was a little difficult to tell what the room was at first, since the colors were mostly black and white, but that changed when the door to that room was opened.

"_Of course. What did I expect…" Masaru muttered to himself, cautiously walking into the empty observatory. _

_Sitting down, he looked up at the clock by the door. The time on the clock was one-thirty. Masaru had a bit of a disappointed look on his face, but he didn't seem utterly offended._

_He turned away from the door and looked towards the front of the observatory, where he was faced with a starry night sky. It was very dark in there, but the numerous starts slightly illuminated the room. He sat on the bench with his hands folded, patiently waiting for someone to arrive._

_After a few seconds, Masaru pulled a crumpled note from his pocket._

'_Meet me in the observatory at 1:30  
-Ryota'_

_Masaru stared at the note for a moment, then carefully put it back in his pocket. He leaned further down and put his head in his hands, appearing as if he was about to fall asleep._

_His face changed from disappointed to a little bit worried. "Ryota, you…" he sighed, a little louder than his initial reaction. _

_It looked like he had finally given in, and his eyes slowly started to shut. _

_As he surely started drifting off, his lips curled into a smile._

_A few more seconds went by before the door opened once more. Instead of a normal person walking in, two figures covered head to toe in black suits creeped in extremely quietly. The figure in front was holding a large black box with ease, and the other noiselessly closed the door behind them._

_Masaru had no idea that other people had entered, for his eyes were still shut. The pair continued to sneak up behind him, light on their feet and without any noise._

_The figure in front was finally inches behind Masaru. They started to slowly lift up the black box, staring down at their target._

_For a split second, Masaru opened his eyes, a smile still slightly on his face._

_But before he could notice the figures in the observatory, one of the figures slammed the black box onto Masaru's head._

_Masaru had no reaction. He was dead instantly._

_Now lifeless, he fell over onto the ground, landing in an ill-inducing position, his arms and legs sprawled out. He bled very quickly, soon becoming an unidentifiable and bloody heap on the ground. _

_The figure that had smashed the black box over Masaru stood there for a second, looking down at what they had done. Both were very close to the initial incident, so they were splattered in their victim's blood._

_Effortlessly, both figures stripped off the black suits, revealing their identities._

"_Simple," the culprit stated calmly, fixing her white ponytail. She turned to the girl behind her. "Put your suit under the bench or something. We need to leave. Now."_

"_Yes…" the other girl said with absolutely no expression. Her face was completely blank._

_Natsumi looked up towards the ceiling. She noticed the vent, and her face showed a thought process running through her head._

"_The vent?" Eiko asked, imitating Natsumi._

"…_Lift me up there," Natsumi ordered, almost as emotionless as the girl she had manipulated. "The door's no good. It's too obvious. Lift me up."_

"_Yes…" Eiko responded immediately afterward._

_The whole scene played out. Eiko lifted Natsumi into the vent. A faint curse was heard from Natsumi when she accidentally cut herself on the vent._

_After Natsumi was gone, Eiko continued staring up at the vent, and then a few words came out of the poisoned girl's mouth._

"_Thank you for killing him."_

The video on the monitor flickered, soon changing back to static.

* * *

It had been an unusually long period of time, and Sugita hadn't exited Kuno's room yet.

He didn't want to knock on the door with the fear of what he would see when he walked in. He could hear faint static coming from the monitor through the door, which meant that the video had ended, and it had been over for a while now. He knew that Sugita should've taken the videotape out of the monitor at this point, but the static engulfed the whole room. He couldn't hear anything from Sugita.

Kuno was definitely worried, though he knew Sugita well enough that he knew she wouldn't do anything scary or drastic. He had been standing there the whole time, and he could clearly hear the video.

A few times, he could pick out Sugita's muffled pleas as she watched the video, which mostly consisted of, _"I can't do it...I can't do it…"_.

Despite his fears, Kuno slowly knocked on the door and called for the volleyball player.

"Sugita…? Is everything alright…?" _That was stupid. I know nothing's alright._

There was no response.

Kuno thought that Sugita would probably be opening her other basket gifts by now, since he could hear some objects shuffling around underneath the static.

"Sugita? Are you, um, looking through the rest of your basket?"

Once again, there was no response.

"…Sugita, please. Just tell me something."

He could still hear objects shuffling around. That at least meant that she was safe, that she was _alive_, but not hearing a response from her, the one who was usually talkative and bubbly, was disturbing.

_Well, it's clear she won't answer me anytime soon. I don't wanna barge in and scare her, that'd be pretty rude…Besides, I still need to open my own basket. Even though Monokuma said they were 'chock-full of treats' and stuff, there aren't a lot of things in mine. Maybe that's not such a bad thing, but it's better to just open it now and get it out of the way. If only she'd just let me in._

_I guess there's nothing I can really do until she comes out. I definitely don't wanna open this basket out in the open. I really do need some time to just be alone and think._

_Yeah, that sounds…great. Alone time. Being alone. All by myse-_

"OKURA SAMA~!"

_Oh no._

* * *

_A little while earlier…_

Would Daichi ever get a break?

Nothing seemed to be going right for the mercenary, especially over the past few days. The entire situation was of course a hindrance on its own, but no matter how hard he tried, nothing could ever be remotely positive. He wished that he was as persistent as someone like Elena or even Sugita, even though he barely talked to either one of them, but everything was weighing him down.

The thing weighing him down most at the moment was the gambler, who was practically coiled around him.

"My lovely Okada-kun…so lucky…so much better than everyone else…" Ace rambled on and on about how great Daichi was.

Normally, praise should be considered a good thing. At least that's what Daichi thought. But Ace had his own special way of being as _annoying as possible._

He kind of wished that he didn't get caught by Eiko when he fell from the vent during the investigation. If he hadn't said anything about it during the trial, Ace would treat him how he treated almost all of the other students- like garbage. There was definitely something wrong with Ace, but no one had any sort of clue as to what made him so…_Ace-ish. _His obsession with luck was uncanny, and the way he treated everyone else was unhealthy. Ace outright hated Daichi until the vent incident, and Daichi wished it could have stayed that way for good.

"Ah, Okada-kun! You should open your gifts, right?" Ace asked, gesturing towards the basket on the floor at Daichi's feet. In bold letters, the front of the basket read, 'Mr. Nakashima's Little Bitch'.

"Not with you here," Daichi muttered, extremely irritated. He could see a videotape poking out from the top of the basket, with a few things underneath. "If you could leave, that would be great."

"Me? Leave _you_? Okada-kun, you're hilarious sometimes!" Ace said with a grin.

"I mean it. Please, just leave."

"I know you don't mean it, Okada-kun!"

"Ace-"

"I wanna see what's in your basket! Because you're so wonderful, I doubt it's anything bad!"

"_Ace-"_

"Okada-kun!"

Ace continued to nudge Daichi, despite his pleas of desperation. Even though Daichi was obviously very tough, this was one thing that got to him more than a lot of other things did. He felt as though he was helpless. Sure, there had been a multitude of situations where Daichi felt the same way, and Ace wasn't nearly as bad in comparison, but with a new motive being given out, there was real stress. Ace didn't help with that stress at all.

_This is too much. I can't handle this anymore,_ Daichi thought with both anger and exasperation.

That was when he saw one particular item at the bottom of his basket.

With some sort of thought in mind, Daichi bent down to grab his gift basket and shifted around to grab the item. Ace simply watched in amusement, a ridiculous grin never leaving his face.

After a few seconds of prodding, Daichi finally found the item he was looking for. He held it in his hand, knowing exactly what to do with it.

"…Er, Okada-kun, what's the significance of a mirror…?" Ace asked, very clearly puzzled by the strange gift.

Ignoring him, Daichi flipped the mirror over to the back, and surprisingly, he found a message hastily written with permanent marker. He carefully shielded it from Ace's line of sight. The message read: _You know what you need to do. You and Mr. Grayson make me wanna vomit. Just let it end. Sincerely, The Headmaster Himself, The Charming, Alluring, Amazing, Talented, Handsome Monokuma._

Daichi felt a little bit guilty, but he was done with Ace. If he continued to pester him every single day, there would be a serious problem.

"Lemme see, Okada-kun!"

Daichi slowly turned his head towards Ace. _I'm sorry. _He looked the gambler dead in the eye and smashed the mirror with his fist as hard as he could.

"…O-Okada-kun…? You…"

"I did."

"B-But…you…broke it…"

"I did."

"That's…that's seven years of_ bad luck…"_

Daichi, despite feeling a little guilty, kept up a tough-guy façade. "I'm completely aware of that," he said with no emotion, placing the remains of the mirror on the floor. "All you've done for, well, however long we've been here, is hurt people. _Badly_. I can't deal with that."

Within a split second, Ace switched from completely heartbroken to how he would behave with any of the other students. His face went from something a little solemn to his usual snide expression.

"Your behaviors are completely unnecessary," Daichi continued, further driving his point into the ground and hopefully drilling it into Ace's head.

"I…I see…" Ace pulled his beanie over his eyes. "Everyone else sees me as plain garbage, right? Those unlucky…those…those…"

Daichi stood tall above Ace, his eyes filled with intimidation. "Listen, I'm not somebody you'd want to mess wi-"

"You're no different from any of them. Hell, you're even worse than all of them, and that's saying something." Ace paused for a moment, narrowing his eyes. "Heh…Just wait until I tell you all of the stuff that Monokuma gave me…He can truly come around, you know?"

"_Ace-"_

"Let's just say that, among some other things, he did give me some…how should I put it…_information_ regarding everyone here."

"…?"

"You're not going to survive. Poor little Daichi, so helpless and upset, all he wants to do is protect and care for everybody! …Did you really think you could save _everybody_? You can't stop all of these trash bags from dying all of these _unnecessary _deaths. Oh, and I know how much you love unnecessary deaths, isn't that right?"

"…"

"That's what I thought. I hope you're one of those people."

Without another word, Ace stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind them.

* * *

"And that's everything that happened, Okura-sama!"

"…What the hell is wrong with you?!"

* * *

It took an obscenely long time to pry Ace off of him, but Kuno was eventually free from the gambler's relentless grasp.

It had been a long time since the baskets were delivered, but Kuno realized that he hadn't opened his basket at all yet. He wasn't excited at all, based on the one reaction he sort of heard from someone else who had opened their basket in his room, but being punished would be even worse.

Kuno decided that it was about time that Sugita should leave his room. He was starting to get very worried about her, and leaving her alone for any longer would make him extremely paranoid.

Ace had dragged him all the way down to the third floor, so he had to make is way back up to his room in order to check on her.

Very tired at this point, he wearily started walking down the long hallway of the third floor, his mind clouded with all sorts of things. Sugita was his priority, but the lingering thought of Ace's disturbing actions towards Daichi stuck around, as well as the motive itself.

_Compared to the musical, this motive isn't nearly as extreme, at least from what I've gathered so far. They're just baskets, they can't really be that bad. Knowing Monokuma, he probably just wrote me a long letter about how much of an 'idiot' I am, and then he probably wrote 'JUST KILL SOMEBODY' at the bottom in bolder letters-_

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted when he heard a conversation going on in the room he stood next to, which was the remote room.

The voices were pretty muffled, and he couldn't distinguish them to a particular student.

"Take it. Take this. I don't want it," the first voice said with urgency, their voice cracking with their panicky tone.

"B-But why? Why would I need this?" the second voice followed, sounding utterly confused.

"I-I can trust you. Take it. Please."

"Uh…I don't really-"

"Don't make me snap at you. Take it."

"…What's gotten into you…?

"The basket. I opened it and I…" the first voice paused for a second. "I can't kill anybody. This is going to kill somebody. You're not going to kill anybody. Just take it," they urged, sounding absolutely mortified after mentioning opening their basket.

"Why was this in your basket?!"

"I don't _know_! Monokuma, they…" the first voice ceased their speech.

"What else was in your basket then?"

"…S-Stop it."

"You're acting so different! Why are you giving this to me?! I don't wanna be rude, but I'm scared for you! I haven't opened mine yet!" the second voice practically yelled.

There was a sudden thud, which sounded like some sort of metal object had clanged on the ground.

"Give me something from yours," the first voice demanded, still shaken.

"But I haven't-"

"Do something with it, and then give it to me."

By this point, Kuno was too frightened to keep listening. There was the fear that one of the voices would find out that he was listening in on their conversation, but the conversation itself was very disturbing.

_So two people were arguing about something…one of them was forcing one of their basket items into someone else's hands…They sounded absolutely horrified the whole time. Something in their basket must have spooked them so much…to the point where they outright said that they were afraid they would kill somebody because of it. It's so strange…what is Monokuma doing with us? What's in these baskets? What's in _my _basket?!_

After a few minutes of walking rather slowly while deeply in thought, Kuno finally arrived back to his room. The door was still shut, but he couldn't hear any more static.

Kuno took a deep breath and knocked on his door.

*knockknockknock*

"…Sugita? Are you still in there?" Kuno question, his voice quite shaky from everything that had recently occurred.

"…"

"Sugita, please. It's been way too long. You have to open the d-"

Unexpectedly, the door quickly swung open.

On the other side of the door was Sugita, and Kuno could immediately tell that something was very, very wrong with the volleyball player.

One of her hands was still placed on the doorknob, not letting go. Both of her hands were incredibly shaky. Her skin was completely pale, almost a bit of a dull gray color. Beads of sweat dripped down her forehead, even running across her eyelids, but she didn't bother to wipe them away. Her eyes were perhaps the most unsettling sight to see. They were absolutely lifeless, like there was nothing left behind them. Her eyes were fixed on Kuno, but she didn't seem startled at all.

Kuno took a quick glance behind her and saw that her basket was completely empty. Every item that had once been in her gift basket was scattered all over the floor, with some papers with writing on them torn to shreds and remnants of the videotape piled up below the monitor.

"S-Sugita…?!" Kuno stammered, his eyes wide with worry. "Is everything…"

Sugita looked behind her, completely ignoring Kuno. "Don't open your basket," she said with no emotion, swiveling back to face Kuno. "Don't open it."

"But I-"

"It's not just the video. Don't open it."

"Hey, wh-"

"Goodbye."

Ignoring him once again, Sugita walked right past Kuno with no other thoughts.

As she walked by, he heard awfully concerning words come out of her mouth.

"Ding dong dang dong…A body has been discovered…" she muttered, walking down the hall and through the exit.

_What _is _this?! What are these baskets doing?! What is Monokuma doing?! What is…I can't handle this. Whatever's in these baskets is really messing with everyone, to the point of…well, what I just saw. She must be right, it has to be more than just the video. It has to be more. _

* * *

Out of everything, _everything_, that had occurred so far, this was by far the strangest thing that Masahide had ever seen during the killing game.

A while ago, after they hung out for a bid around the third floor, Haniji went off to the art room for her own particular reasons (unbeknownst to him of course) and he was too tired to be dragged around, so he decided he should head back to his room and open his basket. Not that he wanted to open it, but if he didn't, he wouldn't live until the morning. The first red flag was the door being unlocked and slightly cracked open, like someone was hiding in there.

_That's…a thing, _Masahide thought with a bit of concern, standing outside of his room. _Why is it open? I didn't think Akira would be in here, but I know she wouldn't just leave the door open like that…_

With both curiosity and cautiousness, he opened the door, and the strangest thing fell upon him.

In front of him was his roommate, notorious for being a big-talking, stuck up, essentially fearless and egotistical person, reduced down to being a shivering, pale, sweating, nervous wreck.

The contents of her basket were spilled all over the floor, most of them being torn up.

Akira was sitting on the bed, eyes widened with some sort of disbelief, staring at one particular item she held in her hand.

"Akira?! Are you-"

"_Save it._"

Masahide shut the door behind him and walked a little bit further into the room. Surprisingly, he was very concerned for whatever was happening to the designer.

"What did you-"

"How did he get this?!" she yelped, her hand severely shaking. In her hand was seemingly nothing special, just an empty drinking glass. It didn't look like it had been washed in a long time, since the insides were coated in some sort of strange liquid.

"What are you talking about? It's a glass…right?"

Akira didn't look him in the eye. "No, no, no, no, no…but…"

"Who? Huh?"

The designer's eyes abruptly shifted to Masahide. Her expression turned to one of hatred and disdain, like it usually was, and it was clear that she was masking her fear.

"Say _anything_ and you're dead!" Akira growled, tightening her grasp on the drinking glass.

Masahide held his arms up in surrender. "A-Alright! Yeah! None of this happened! Got it!"

Akira looked back down at the glass. "This fake. This isn't the real…no, of course it's fake. He couldn't have…no, it's fake." She kept reassuring herself, but Masahide had no idea what was going through her head.

"Hey, it's getting, uh, late…" Masahide nervously stammered. He approached closer to his own bed. "I really need to open-"

"Good luck with that," Akira quickly responded with no emotion. She grabbed the drinking glass and hurriedly walked out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her. Her frantic steps could be heard for a few seconds, eventually fading into silence.

…_Wow, really wants to make me open this goddamn basket,_ Masahide thought with dismay, setting it down on his bed.

_It can't be that bad…agh, who am I kidding?! If a water glass gets Akira all worked up, I doubt I'll survive even opening anything in here. _

_I wonder…_

* * *

The video started.

It was momentarily static, then fading to everyone's favorite black and white bear just sitting there in front of a black screen.

"Well well, if it isn't my favorite bland ol' protagonist! A character just like every other!" the bear exclaimed, as if he was directly talking to Kuno through the screen. "Knowing you as well as I do, I expect you're watching this at the very last minute. Tsk tsk! Typical of you, Mr. Okura. So predictable."

The bear cocked his head to the side, his expression unchanged. "So, you gotta be thinking, 'Oh gee, I wonder how bad this videotape has to be for it to be put in my gift basket! Woe is me!'. That's exactly what you're thinking. I'm a mind reader, you know. Well, judging by the looks of it, you must've already opened everything in your basket! You're a complex guy, doing things the different way!"

Kuno didn't know how to react. He didn't think that he could. He sat there in disbelief, the remnants of everything in his basket scattered around on the floor. It was like he couldn't recollect what made him tear up every note and break every item in his basket.

"Listen, Mr. Okura, I know you're a smart guy. You're the Super High School Level Espionage for a reason, pal! You have some real skill! Unlike everyone else here, you can actually be useful without the handy-dandy tactics of manipulation! If I had chosen you to be my right-hand man, we'd be on top of the world!"

…_I don't understand._

"Alright, enough with the chit-chat, let's cut to the chase! This is supposed to be motivation for _murder_! I know you don't really look the part, but everybody has a little bit of a killer inside of them, right? I know you do, too! I'm sure you've had the urge to curbstomp some of your students and crush their skull! I know I have! Upupupupu~!"

…_I don't understand._

"I can trust you with some very crucial information. Information of the most crucial caliber. I know you're intelligent, but you're too much of a wholesome and caring guy to give this stuff away!"

…_Crucial information?_

"Aw, I can tell through the screen that you're already too fazed by the other things in your lovely basket that my dump of information would be too much for you to remember. But there are a few things I want you to know, Mr. Okura. Things that will change your perspective on this whole ordeal…"

…_Perspective?_

"A number of students, that number being classified, have been working on _my _side! Isn't that crazy?! Well, I thought I'd give you your own personal motive, since I know you have the balls to carry it out! You're all about justice and stuff, am I right?"

_Maybe I am…_

"If you were to kill one of those students, by any method of course, I'd let you leave completely scot-free! An offer too good to let down! Of course you'd have to make an educated guess, but the answers are _criminally _easy! You're a spy, so it wouldn't be too hard!"

…

"Keep me posted, Mr. Okura! Keep me posted! It's about time the ones with actual brain cells start making some difficult cases! Besides, let's say if I _didn't _hold up my end of the bargain, none of them would be able to figure you out! You're the most competent one here! There's no contest! No competition! Either way, you're sure to get out of here with no consequence!"

_No…consequence…?_

"Think about it- Kill one of the students that's been working with me. One of the students that made this whole killing game possible. That's already getting rid of a major threat. You're smart enough to cover everything up, after all. They'll never catch you. You're _so _much better than them!"

…_I…_

"Of course, I could be completely lying to you right now. Who knows, maybe _you're _the traitor! Upupupu! You'll never know, I guess. Too smart to be caught, but too dumb to know if you're really being messed with. That's just how you are! Well…I'll let you think about that!"

The screen froze for a few seconds, then cut back to static.

…

…_No. No? No. No!_

_Why would I ever think like that?!_

_Never, under any circumstances, would I ever want to murder any of them. Never. Why would that bear insinuate such a thing? I don't know if he's even telling me the truth, so what's the point in following through in whatever he says? To think that I almost fell for such a thing…_

Kuno took a moment to snap out of his thoughts and take a look around the room. The floor was a complete mess, with every item that was once in his basket being ripped up and scattered on the floor. He couldn't quite place what made him behave that way, but he knew that Monokuma was definitely messing with their minds somehow. Something must have been off if he was almost convinced to do the unthinkable.

At this point, it had been many hours since the baskets were received, and Kuno had assumed that it was almost curfew. He wearily stood up and removed the video tape from the monitor and placed it back into its container. Without looking at them too much, he placed the remnants of the items strewn across the floor back into his basket, then pushing the basket to the far corner of the room. He wanted nothing to do with that dreaded basket any time soon.

As if on cue, Haniji walked back into their room.

"Oh…you…" the painter sighed, as if she was disappointed to see Kuno. She held her basket in her hand, waving it around a bit.

"Nice to see you, too," Kuno replied with a very defeated tone. He took a quick look at the basket she held. "I see that you-"

"Mhm."

"Yeah. Right."

"…"

The long period of silence didn't help in making the situation any less awkward.

"Keeping a conversation with you is so tiring…" Haniji groaned, sitting down on her bed. "You're so difficult…"

_I find that a little hard to believe-_

*bzzzzzt*

"Attention, students! The time is now 10:00 PM, which means that Night Time is in effect. The doors to the cafeteria will be locked momentarily. Make sure to have a good night's sleep and prepare for tomorrow! Upupupu!"

*bzzzzzt*

* * *

Kuno found that night particularly difficult to sleep through. This was the first time that he knew for certain that somebody wouldn't make it through to the next day. He had seen what even a simple gift basket had done to both him and Sugita, so it wasn't a very farfetched thought.

Of course, that didn't make anything easier. It was inevitable at that point. One of his friends was going to die, and there was absolutely nothing he could do.

* * *

…

_Ugh…what…what's the time…? I-_

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

The unusually forceful knocks on his door caused Kuno to sit up abruptly. He hadn't slept well the whole night, but now he was wide awake and fully conscious.

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

The second set of knocks was enough to stir his roommate, who slowly sat up after him. She placed a pillow over her head to try to drown out the sounds. "Please…just stop…I don't think the anno-

"Open the goddamn door," the muffled voice asserted from outside.

Immediately, Kuno recognized the voice. "A-Akira?! What are you-"

"Get up. _Now_."

With the fear of being ridiculed at such an early hour, Kuno hurriedly got up and ran to the door. He opened it to find the designer herself, who looked unusually distraught.

"What are you doing here? What time is it?"

"…Leave…" Haniji muttered, face-down on her bed.

Akira rolled her eyes. "Just come on." Without warning, she grabbed onto Kuno's wrist, attempting to pull him out of the room.

"W-Why?! What's going o-"

"Save it, spy boy," Akira retaliated, her voice only slightly raised. She didn't have the same intimidating manner as she usually did. Something was clearly off, and it had to be something important to make the most unemotional student there to look even remotely uncomfortable.

"…F-Fine. Show me," Kuno defeatedly agreed, finally allowing himself to be dragged.

In what seemed like a matter of seconds, Akira had pulled the espionage through most areas of the school, not facing back once to acknowledge him. She never explained why she did what she did, which is what Kuno found especially strange.

But despite that, he knew exactly what had happened.

He just hadn't imagined that Akira would be fazed by it at all.

The pair had reached the b-three floor, where something was immediately off. There was nothing that could be seen from that point that was off-putting, but the feeling in the floor was one of dread and despair.

"U-Um…" Kuno stammered, his voice shaking a bit. "Akira, just out of, uh, curiosity, what did you-"

"What do you _think_ it is?" Akira snapped, still not facing him. "Take a wild guess. Use your brain for once."

"…Just let me look around alone, alright?" Kuno said with exasperation, freeing himself from Akira's grasp. "I-It might be easier like this…"

With a deep breath, Kuno continued walking down the corridor with a feeling of absolute terror.

From a distance, he could hear the designer mutter, "It's worse than you think, spy boy." Her steps slowly started fading away.

*bzzzzzt*

"Good morning, students! It's seven in the morning! Time to get up! Let's all strive to do our best today!"

*bzzzzzt*

Kuno was severely startled by the announcement, since he was so lost in thought. He wouldn't have noticed if any of the students were to come running down. It was like the emptiness of the floor had drowned out everything else. He was consumed by his own horrific thoughts.

_I can't do anything now. I know what I'm about to see. I can't do anything about it…_

Kuno stopped before the entrance of a room that was oddly wide open- the candy store. Visibly shaking, he peered his head into the entrance of the shop. It was similar to that of the state of the library, being that it had been completely and utterly destroyed.

He slowly walked into the store, struggling to take in his surroundings. Almost every single shelf was knocked over. Candy was scattered all over the floor like the items of his basket were the previous night. The statue of Monokuma had clearly been tampered with, like someone had thrown their entire body weight into the side of it. With another deep breath, he walked as far as he could into the store without colliding with one of the shelves. He took a look to his side and noticed something that seemed to be untouched- the counter.

Kuno knew exactly what was behind the counter. He couldn't bear to take a look, but it was the only thing he could do.

…_I have to do this…I don't want to know, I don't want to believe it, but…here it goes…_

Kuno leaned over the counter, and his heart dropped. It seemed to skip every single beat. The air was abruptly taken from his lungs. He almost collapsed at the sight.

Behind the counter, one of his fellow students was sprawled out, their face facing the ceiling. Their eyes were closed, but nothing about the scene was peaceful. They were laid out in a huge puddle of blood, their entire backside drenched in it. The hands on their body were severely scratched up, looking vile and inhuman. There were too many open wounds scattered across their body to count.

Right there before him was Elena Luz Grey, all life gone from her.

Kuno felt like he was paralyzed. He couldn't move. He didn't have the urge to move. He couldn't make any sounds. All he could do was stare as no thoughts ran through his brain. Not even the voices of his approaching classmates could snap him out of this despairing trance.

He could sense all of his classmates coming up behind him, and it didn't take long for any reactions.

"O-O-Oh my God…"

"Elena…?"

"Elena?!"

"W-Who would…who would…?!"

*bzzzzzt*

"Ding dong dang dong! A body has been discovered! Following a brief period of investigation, we will commence our school trial!"

*bzzzzzt*

Suddenly, Kuno could feel someone shaking his shoulders.

"K-Kuno! Snap out of it! Y-You can't just…Kuno!" Sugita practically yelled, her voice cracking. "Who would…I don't…"

Kuno jerked his head up and turned away from the body. "I-I-I know," he stuttered, breathing heavily. "But I-"

He couldn't finish his sentence. He had no idea how to.

_Elena…why did it have to be you…? Why did it have to be you?! After all of this, everything you did for me…you're just…you're just gone…_

The mortifying image of her body was forever burned into his mind. He couldn't seem to focus on anything else. It was as if some time had went by, but he couldn't keep in touch with reality. Nothing was real to him. Elena couldn't be dead. One of the only people who seemed to be some sort of hope…she was gone.

*bzzzzzt*

"Ding dong dang dong! A body has been discovered! Following a brief period of investigation, we will commence our school trial!"

*bzzzzzt*

Kuno's eyes shot open. "…W-What was that?!" He turned to his classmates, but noticed a few of them were missing. "Did anyone else-"

"Did that thing just…go off again?" Eiko questioned, worriedly looking around the room.

"Wait, no, that can't be right…what just-"

Kuno's words were cut by the shrill cries of students from across the hallway.

"G-G-Guys! Come here!" an indistinguishable voice screamed, raised above the frantic cries of several other students.

Without thinking, Kuno immediately ran out of the room.

His entire body went numb and cold. He couldn't decipher what was reality and what wasn't. _Did it really…go off again?! _he thought as he ran along with the other students. _No, it couldn't be. That can't be true. That can't happen…can it? No, it can't…it's impossible…_

Before he knew it, Kuno was faced with yet another scene. The rest of the students huddled around it, but they were oddly silent. Nobody uttered a word.

Once again, with no thoughts, Kuno desperately pushed and prodded through the crowd of students blocking the entrance to the supply closet in the sports equipment room. Surprisingly, no one had any reaction to his forceful and jerky movements. All of them were stuck staring in disbelief at what was before them.

Another student was found in that closet, one who hadn't showed up all morning. They were leaned against the wall, which was heavily stained with blood. Their arms and legs seemed relaxed, but oddly placed as if they were merely sitting against the wall. A javelin crudely protruded from their stomach, the entire object pierced through every layer.

The only thing that signified the identity of that student was the beanie pulled over their head.

Ace Grayson had been killed.

* * *

**Reviews are heavily appreciated! Your feedback really motivates me to keep on writing!**

**Until next time, Happy Despairing~!**


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